One and Only
by hopefulromanticx
Summary: Melaine lives in LaPush and she is happy with how her life is all she really needs is to tell the boy she loves that she loves him. But he is destined to be with someone else.Drama ensues.Will she be able to make him see that she is his one and only? J/OC
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

I roll over in bed as I hear my dad's pick-up truck's distinctive engine come to life. It breaks through the morning air ferociously and threatens to awaken the whole neighborhood. I listen to the engine travel down the road away from the house. I picture the faded blue, old, 1965 Ford pick-up truck that is still my father's pride and joy drive down to the stop light, make a left and head down to the diner that he owns to begin work. I roll over again unable to find sleep. I'm a light sleeper, ever since the accident, I wake up at the slightest of sounds.

Cold wind blows through my open window. I always leave it open. I close my eyes, letting the cool air act as a lullaby to soothe me back to sleep. Just as I begin to fall back asleep, a thud comes from close to my window. I sigh; I know who it probably is so I'm not in a rush to see them. I look over to my clock, it reads five-thirty. I sigh again and then look over to the intruder.

Embry has his arms crossed as he eyes me in my bed. I roll over away from him. "Can't a girl sleep in every once in a while?" Embry chuckles with his deep voice and it gives life to the previously quiet house. I hear him walk over to the bed, he pulls back the covers and after a second, he crawls into the bed, he wraps his arms around me and I feel safe in his warm arms.

I smile, "I'm never going to get a boyfriend with you coming into my room in early hours of the day, especially if they see you cuddling with me." I giggle.

"Good, you're _my_ Melly." He says and I can hear his smile. He playfully pulls me closer to him.

Another thud.

I look to the window. It's Jake. I suddenly wish Embry wasn't in the room. Jake smiles and crosses his arms as he looks to Embry and me. "Embry, I was supposed to beat you here." He laughs. He walks over to the bed; he sits on it instead of getting in the covers like Embry did. He smiles to me. "How are you Melaine?"

I pull out of Embry's embrace, he grunts a little in disapproval, I sit up and look at Jake. "I'm tired. You guys do know that you don't have to come see me as soon as my dad leaves for the diner right?"

"We were just excited to see you Melly." Embry chimes in. Jake smiles.

"No… you were excited for breakfast. Really couldn't you go to Emily's or something?" I ask as I stretch and crawl out of bed. There's no way I'm going to be able to go back to sleep now.

"Your pancakes are the best, and your muffins are to die for." Jake smiles. I nod and I grab my brush and run it through my jet black hair, the hair my mom had passed down to me. My dad used to always mention it after she died; now he avoids talking about her. I guess he just goes through stages and this is his avoiding the subject stage. My hair is straight so when I run my brush through it, it cascades down passed my shoulders and ends at my mid back. I turn to look at them.

"Which will it be today? Muffins or pancakes?" I ask them as I begin walking to the kitchen. They follow me routinely. I go into the kitchen and I begin cleaning up the mess Dad left after he ate breakfast. They seem to be contemplating the idea.

Suddenly an answer, "Muffins, definitely." Embry smiles. "Let me know when they are done." He walks out of the kitchen and goes into the living room.

"Here, let me get that." Jake offers to take the juice and put it into the refrigerator. I smile to him and hand it to him. There was a time when I would have fought that gentle gesture, as if to show him that I could stand on my own, but now I know he prefers to feel like he is helping me so I let him take the juice. I search the kitchen for the ingredients and I lay them on the counter. I rummage for the mixing spoon that I can't find. Jake chuckles as he watches me. I glare at him and continue searching. Minutes later after I haven't found it, arms wrap around my waist and pull me against a firm but soft body.

"Looking for this?" He giggles as he dangles the spoon in front of me. I grab the spoon, playfully hit him and glare at him.

"Jerk." I mutter as I begin mixing. He laughs as he pulls out one of the table chairs and sits in it.

"You were just so cute looking for it. I couldn't resist." He smiles an unbelievably gorgeous smile.

"Asshole." I say as I pour the mix into the cups in the pan. He laughs again. "Is Quil not coming?" I ask him as I place the muffins in the oven.

I join him at the table. Jake shakes his head. "Claire is visiting today, he's so excited he won't do anything but sit and wait for her to get there and that started last night." He laughs amused at what he sees at silliness.

"It's cute Jake." I say to him.

He laughs again. "It's pathetic. I can't imagine a girl controlling me that much that I just wait for her."

"It's love. It will happen to you eventually." I say and I suddenly wish I hadn't thought about that, Jake, finding love, loving someone else, someone who isn't me. I almost can't take it; I plaster a smile on my face when he looks to me wearily.

"No woman will control me. I'm an Alpha after all." He smiles proudly.

I laugh. "It will happen to you Jake, you'll be swooning over her, you'll wait hours for her to arrive, you'll constantly think about her. It will happen to both you and Embry, and you'll both forget about me." I say solemnly.

Jake is serious now. His eyes, their always so strong, they burn into me as if trying to reassure me of something, as if trying to tell me something. "That could never happen, Melaine."

"Promise?" I ask him just as the oven timer goes off. I rush over to the oven. I pull them out and Embry is at the table before I turn around. He looks ready to eat them. I smile. I lay them on a plate and then on the table. Embry grabs one cursing as it scorches him, and that is saying something since he's already so hot.

"Idiot." I laugh as he has trouble eating after his first bite burns his tongue.

"It's not my fault," Embry insists, "I'm the victim." I smile at him and look to Jake, who is serious and deep in thought. "Jake, did you tell her we came by because we have an early pack meeting?" Jake shakes his head and suddenly it is as if he shook away all the worry.

"No, I didn't really want to think about the meeting." He says.

"What's it about?" I ask him.

"Leah… she wants to go out on her own for a while, be away from Sam and Emily and Emily's baby whenever it is born." Jake answers. "Sam is still very protective of her, imprinted or not, he still loves her. Plus Leah's mom begged him to order her not to. Leah has called everyone together to vote for her "rights". It's going to be exhausting really. With all the stress, Emily could go into early labor, which everyone but Leah is really worried about." Jake says.

"I understand where she is coming from. I wouldn't want to be around that. Especially since she hasn't imprinted yet, it's so hard for her to see everyone else happy." I say.

Embry gets serious. "We have to go." He says as he grabs another muffin. "Sam wants to meet with us before Leah gets there."

I nod. "Come see me later." I smile. "Oh take these," I hand Embry the left-over muffins. "Make sure Quil gets one and tell him I missed him. Lovesick or not, he still needs to eat." Embry nods and gets up from the table. We begin walking to the door. Embry hugs me tightly, kisses me on the cheek and then walks out. Jake hugs me for a while. I can smell the forest on him. It's soothing, holding him like this is so natural. Suddenly I get nervous when the thought enters my head that we haven't hugged for this long before. I laugh nervously wondering why he keeps holding on.

Jake leans close, and for a minute I think he is going to kiss me. His mouth is inches from mine and his eyes burn into mine passionately. My breath catches in my throat and my heart rate increases and I swear Jake can hear it. "I promise." He whispers as he lets go of me and he walks away leaving me breathless in the doorway.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi! Thanks for the reviews so far they are lovely. For those of you wondering how to pronounce her name it is pronounced Mel-a-nee it is just spelled differently. I apologize if you got confused. I was looking up names and the spelling this way caught my attention and I liked it. Well… here is chapter 2! Enjoy! Let me know how you feel about it please. Thanks!**

Chapter 2:

It didn't take me long to realize what I was going to do. I rushed up the steps as soon as they were out of view. I pulled on jeans and changed into a flowy tank top. I slid on flip flops and pulled my hair into a ponytail. I was going to see Leah; I was going to try to help her. Although we weren't best friends, we were friends, and what Sam was about to do to her was wrong. Completely wrong. He planned on getting everyone to vote against Leah. It wasn't fair. If I had been in her shoes, I would have wanted to leave.

I rush out of the house and hop into my Jeep Liberty and I drive to the Clearwater's. I park the car and I rush up to the house just as Seth was rushing out of the house.

"Hey Mel!" He calls as he rushes passed me. "You might want to be careful, Leah isn't in a great mood." He warns and he runs away.

I take a deep breath and knock on the door. I worry about how I could tell her their plans gently. Leah quickly opens the door. She stands in the doorway with her arms crossed in front of her.

"What's up?" She asks.

"Something has to be up for me to come see you?" I ask her. She looks to me questioningly. So, I don't have the best record of keeping in touch with her in the past. "Sam plans on getting everyone to vote against your plans." I say bluntly, I regret it immediately. I could have done that more gracefully, more softly. I watch as her strong exterior withers away and I see the broken girl that she hides from everyone else. I've seen it a few times, not recently, but that is more than anyone else except for her family. She crumbles right there, she leans against the door frame, her head isn't proud and erect; it's worn out and slumped. "I'm sorry." I mutter.

"I knew this would happen." She practically cries. "I just can't take it anymore. That's supposed to be me. Emily has my life. He doesn't understand because he's not the one whose life was taken away abruptly and given to someone else." Her voice hints at possible tears, but she holds it together, years of practice I assume and I admire her. I've always let my emotions take over. I look at her and I suddenly see myself in her. Instead of her Sam, it will be my Jake. Sure, we might not be exactly the same, I can't imagine Jake and my relationship ever blooming into a beautiful romantic relationship but he's still the love of my life. He's destined to be with someone else and nothing I do can make me that someone else.

Leah composes herself, slowly putting back that strong exterior. "I have to go to that meeting." She says strongly.

"I'm coming too." I say and I brush my hand over her arm compassionately. "I admire you Leah, I just wanted you to know that." I say. She smiles slightly.

"Have you told him yet?" She asks me as we walk to Sam's house.

I look down and shake my head. "What would be the use? He is destined to love someone else. I don't want to mess with destiny, and I don't want to get my heart shattered."

"I don't think all of us have an imprint. I think we all have soul mates, but I don't think all of the pack members have imprints. I have a theory that it's the members that need that connection because they don't have it with someone else. If they already are destined to have a powerful connection to someone, then they don't need an imprint. Just a theory." She says. I smile as I realize how much her theory reassures me. "Wanna ride? I'm kind of anxious and you are slow." She smiles. I nod and she morphs. I jump onto her and take hold of some of her hair. She runs and I grip tighter.

She stops when we get to the front yard. She runs behind a tree, morphs and appears in her tank top and shorts. She smiles to me and we walk together up the steps, I take her hand as a sign to tell her that someone was on her side and someone was there. She smiles to me gratefully and we walk into the house without knocking.

"Leah…" Jake stares at her and everyone in the room looks to her. "Melaine?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

"Hey everyone," Leah says flawlessly, no hurt shows through her voice. "Are you already voting?" She asks acting innocent. She releases my hand and I lean against a nearby wall and I watch the scene.

Billy, my Dad and Sue enter into the room. They look alert at the scene. Leah has now stood defiantly in front of Sam.

"Everyone needs to be calm, there is important matters to discuss," Billy says softly and gently, very much like Billy would. He always has the patience to handle everything. My dad just notices my presence and he looks shocked that I'm at the meeting. When Billy rolls out of the kitchen doorway, he reveals he has brought a guest, it's Bella Swan. I tense at her presence. I look to Jake and I notice he has stiffened at her presence too. He gets up and takes her in his arms. She smiles at this and he lifts her up.

"Bella!" He cheers as he spins her around. I move more into the corner feeling uncomfortable with their affection. Embry reaches over to me and his hand rests comfortingly on mine. I plaster a smile to my face and show it to him. He moves his hand away and focuses back on Billy.

Sam looks to Billy. "What is it?" He asks.

"Leah can you move away from Sam? I feel like you are about to punch him in the face." She nods and slides back beside me. "Okay, Bella came to me to ask for help, she needs _everyone_," Billy focuses his eyes on Leah, "she needs our help and I told her you guys would be happy to help her." I look over to Leah, her face has fallen, no one has taken notice, but for a second, her guard is gone, Billy sees it, but no one else. She takes a deep, pitiful sigh that no one else can hear and she builds back up her walls. I place my hand on her arm to comfort her.

"What is it this time?" Collin asks eagerly.

Jake looks to Bella, there is no secret about the way he feels about her. He adores her and you can see it in his eyes. I shrink a little bit.

"Bella's family is in trouble." Billy says and Embry whispers _of course_. I smile slightly at this. "The Volturi are returning. They wish to see Bella's daughter. They might try to take her to join them." Billy explains. Jake looks to Bella and he pulls her tighter.

"I know it's a lot to ask. I wouldn't do it if I didn't think it was a necessity. Edward says with her amazing gifts, they could recruit her and expect her to join them when she becomes of age." Bella finally speaks.

"What do you expect us to do?" Sam asks.

"If it comes to it I wish you to protect my daughter and to fight for her young, innocent life. Also, to be witnesses, the Volturi are less likely to act violently with witnesses. You guys will intimidate them as well. It really shouldn't come to anything bad." Bella says but to me, it sounds like she is trying to convince herself.

Jake turns to Bella; he pulls a stray piece of hair out of her face. She smiles to him gratefully. She is beautiful and with every look he gives her, I shrink more and more. I need to get out of her. I need to show him that I can handle it and that I don't depend on him. "Why didn't you tell me you were in trouble when I came over yesterday?" He went over there yesterday? There goes another piece of my heart. What were they doing? Why hadn't he told me? He never hides things from me. He used to always tell me when he went over to see Bella.

"I wasn't sure I wanted to get all of you involved." She says sadly.

"Of course we'll help you. All of us will." Jake says before confirming with Sam, but he doesn't argue.

"What about Leah?" I blurt out. Everyone turns to look at me. "She doesn't want to be here. I highly doubt you need another wolf. She wants to leave. She doesn't need to be here to save a child she cares nothing for. It's ridiculous that you plan on forcing her to stay." Sam glares at me, Embry gives me a warning look, and Jake looks to me as if he's confused about why I'm helping out Leah.

Sam moves to me. He grabs my arm. "I'd like to talk to you outside." Sam says as he pulls me out of the room and out to the front yard. I sigh when we stop by a tree, yards away from the house.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

"Stop, Melaine." He says.

"What for? Someone has to stand up for her!" I say.

"Leah can take care of herself. It's not like what you just did was completely for Leah." Sam says knowingly. I pull my arm away, sigh and lean against the tree. "Do you have any idea why I chose to go against Leah's choice in deciding to leave?"

"No, but I have a feeling that she thinks you just want to keep her here, and keep her on a string as if she was still yours to have." I say and look back to the beautiful, simple house. It was a great house to start a family, plenty of yard space for the children to run around. A swing could hang from this tree and a playground could be built in the backyard. I admire it.

"That's not even close to my reasons." Sam says. "It's dangerous out there for wolves on their own. We are pack animals, Mel. If she was to cross paths with a pack, the leader wouldn't hesitate to destroy her. They'd think that she was a rebellion and that she'd try to take their pack and the leader would rip her to shreds, maybe they might even drag out the misery, but they'd destroy her." Sam shivers at the thought. "I can't think about letting her go, especially with that image in my head. I know you and her have this horrible image of me that I'm a jerk and I never loved her but I did and I do." He says.

I shake my head. "I've never thought that you didn't love her. Leah knows you loved her. I don't think she thinks you still do… but that's between both of you and not me. I just wanted to stand up for her. She rarely lets her walls crumble, and they fell today, twice in front of me. I couldn't stand it anymore. I'm sorry that I did it rudely, but I'm not sorry for standing up for her. She deserves to be happy Sam. But if you think you need her, then keep her here, but if she wants to leave, she will leave eventually, no matter what Sue or you say." I tell him. I head back to the house. "Don't worry; you can have the pack meeting without the interruption of a mere mortal. I'm leaving; I've just got to grab my bag."

Sam grabs my arm and spins me to face him. "I've never forced you out. You aren't just a mere mortal. You are a part of this. You can stay if you want." Sam says.

"I don't want. Whenever I'm around Bella, I get this gross taste in my mouth especially when she's with Jake. So I'm going to behave myself. I'm going in to get my bag, tell everyone bye, and I'm leaving. I'll see you soon Sam." I plaster another smile on my face and head into the room. The room falls quiet. I grab my bag. I turn to my dad. "I'm not cooking dinner tonight; I'm going to Forks to hang out. You're on your own for dinner." I tell him. "Bye." I smile to everyone and then I walk out.

As I walk across the lawn, I realize my car is still at Leah's, good I can walk and clear my head. I hear the door slam and footsteps pad toward me.

"Melly!" Jake calls. I'm shocked that he's left Bella's side. He catches up to me after I don't make an effort to run away. His arms wrap around me and spin me to him. "Did he hurt you?" Jake asks defensively.

"God, no, Jake, he would never." I reassure him. "I just needed to get out of there." I say.

"Why?" Jake asks innocently.

"You honestly don't know do you?" I look to him. I shake my head as if to shake off the threat of telling him. "I just felt like someone should stick up for Leah."

He looks to me questioningly. "It's for her own protection." Jake tries to assure me.

"If you have convinced yourself of that, then sure, it is." I say. I pull out of his arms and storm towards my car. I know I'm being an emotional wreck. Just right now, when I look at him I see her in his eyes and it disgusts me. I can't do it right now. I might break, I might crack. He doesn't let me go though. He pulls me back to him, his eyes burning with something I don't recognize.

"What's wrong Melaine?" He asks me seriously.

"Nothing." I say and avoid his eyes.

There are footsteps coming towards us, I wonder if he'll turn around and see her. She stumbles on a root, I don't move to help her, Jake doesn't hesitate, in a minute he rushes and catches her and his hands are gone. The only trace that they were ever there around me is the outline of heat that still rests just above the skin. I turn on my heel.

I begin shaking and trembling. I tell myself to calm down. I pace away, rushing to my car. Jake calls my name. I begin running. I hear him tell Bella to wait a minute. I run faster. He chases after me. He catches me when I'm feet from my car. He grabs me and spins me around to face him. I tremble.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

"Melaine…" he says cautiously.

Bella stands feet away from us, watching me as if I was some monster. I tremble more and more thinking of the kisses she's shared with Jake and how she's treated him so horribly.

"Melly… calm down. What's wrong?" He asks. I push him away and start trembling.

"I said nothing!" I yell and he reaches for me, I push him to the ground, I'm shocked by my strength but I feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins.

"Bella!" He calls. "Go get Sam now!"

I'm about to leap at her running body when Jake grabs me. He pulls me to the ground. I fight him. I pound against his chest. He just takes it. He lets me. I shove him off of me finally. I tremble more and more as I stand up. Then suddenly my body rips in half. I yelp and fall to the ground. I roll around. Another rip, another yelp. My vision blurs and enhances then all of my senses follow. They alternate, weakening and enhancing. I shiver on the ground and tremble as my body takes rip after rip, I yelp and cry. I watch as Jacob runs to my car and grabs my blanket. Suddenly it stops, and everything is enhanced. I look down to see my hands have turned into sandy paws. I howl. I look to Jake who is admiring my new form. I shake my head, lower it and let out something similar to a cry. Jake moves to me but I step back away from him. I wasn't supposed to be this, not me, it's not fair. The whole pack follows Bella and Sam toward me. Embry gapes at me and so do the rest. I shake my head, lower it.

"Mel-" Sam begins but I run away before he can finish.

"Let him." I hear Sam say just as I get out of earshot.

I let my instincts take control. I run and I jump and I dive.

_Melaine. _It's Jake. I run harder and faster. _Please Melaine let me talk to you. _He begs. I find a nearby clearing, I collapse and I begin to cry. Suddenly, it is cold again and my skin is against grass. I hear footsteps. I tremble and I crumble. Jake wraps the blanket around my body and picks me up in his arms as he sits on the grass; I sit on his lap, leaning my face against his chest. I cry into his chest, I'm not sure why. Maybe it was the ripping pain. Maybe it was the realization that I've morphed into what most people in today's society would see as a monster. Maybe it was even about Jake and the way he looks at Bella and the way I want him to look at me. I just cry into his chest, and he lets me crumble and he tries to soothe me. After what I am sure to be forever, I look up to him with tear-stained eyes. He looks sorry for me.

"This wasn't supposed to happen to me." I say with a few voice cracks.

Jake looks down, his hand takes a stray piece of hair away from my face and behind my hair. He touches me gently. Then his hand goes down to mine and takes my hand in his. "I know." He whispers.

"My life is already crazy enough, I don't need this. I don't want this." I cry into his chest.

"I promise it gets better. It doesn't seem like it but it does. You have people who can help you, who want to help you." Jake says.

I wipe my eyes. "Like who, who wants to help me?" I ask him. "Especially after that scene I just made." I say more to myself now.

"I can name one person that I know wants to help you." He looks to me seriously.

"You?" I ask and he nods. I scoff, I push off of him and stumble to my feet. "As soon as Bella needs your help you will ditch and it will be as if I don't even exist anymore." I tell him. I pace in front of him and he lets me. He watches me for a moment and then he looks down.

"You have such little faith in me." He says softly.

"It's not you alone, but when you get with her, it's different, like you aren't Jake… you are her Jake." I say to him and instantly wish I hadn't said anything. _Did that even make sense?_

Jake looks to the grass and pulls up a blade of yellowed grass aggressively. I shiver a little bit out of nervousness. He's never gotten aggressive with me. I mean, sometimes he was upset around me but it was never at me. I cower a little at the first sign of aggression and it becomes clear to me that he is my alpha and I am inferior to him. He looks back up to me with passion and annoyance. I instinctively step back from him.

"I am no one's Jake." He says. I look away from him and bite my bottom lip nervously. _How far was I willing to push him to see how much he cared, to see how far he went, to see if he was willing to cross that line from friendship to romance? _

The thought of my mom comes to my head. She wasn't Native American like my father. She had beautiful, jet black hair to go with her fair skin. I inherited my father's russet skin. Her eyes, which she passed on to me, were a deep blue. And her laugh enchanted everyone around her. My dad had told me that's what drew him to her so long ago. We had lost her so suddenly. She never got to travel like she always said she would. I think about how many other things she must have put off thinking that she had forever and I suddenly don't want to wait anymore.

I look to Jake, and he is studying me. His annoyance in his eyes has faded as he probably knows what I was thinking of.

"Please Jake she has you brainwashed. Anyone with eyes can see that." I say to test him. His annoyance in his eyes revives. He jumps up.

"Brainwashed?" He says annoyed.

"You follow her like a lost puppy, like she's the most beautiful creature in the world. You don't think for yourself or care about anyone who cares about you when you are with her. She is all that matters." I say bitterly.

"Oh really? I don't care about anyone else when I'm with her? Then why the hell was I worried about you when Sam took you out of the house today? And when you were morphing, why did I leave Bella to try to help you?" Jake says.

"I don't know Jake why did you leave the girl you are so in love with for me?" I ask him testing him. I'm close to him now, very close to him.

He backs away from me. "I have to go Mel, sorry." He says and he runs away, I see him morph at the edge of the clearing. A piece of me breaks as I see him running away.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

I decide to walk back to town, in my human form. I go to my dad's diner and when I walk in Joy Ateara greets me from the bar. I walk over to her and sit on a stool. I sigh and she rubs my arm comfortingly.

"Your father said you might be by." She smiles sweetly. "Rough day sweetheart?"

I nod. "The roughest." I sigh.

"One hot fudge sundae coming right up." She smiles.

"Joy, I'm not five anymore, hot fudge sundaes don't make everything better." I say to her sounding defeated.

She smiles to me. "I know that. But they do help to make them less painful."

She goes to the back and I see her in the kitchen messing with the ingredients. I look around in the diner. Local regulars, not really anyone I know but people I've seen here often. I go to the wall of pictures my father keeps hanging on the wall. I scan all of the pictures; most of them are pictures of members of the pack and their families along with other regulars. Then my eyes find it, the one I was looking for. My mom's hair is messed up perfectly, she is wearing an apron, and a huge smile as she carries a tray of food. If you look closely, you see small baby bump. This was always my favorite picture to look at as my mother. She looks so happy in it, her smile reaches her eyes, and she is absolutely flawless in the picture. I smile up to it, instantly feeling like she is here with me.

A gentle hand touches my arm. "She would be so proud of you Melaine you know that right?" Joy says from behind me.

I turn to her and smile. "I hope so." I look around and the diner has emptied. This happens daily, the diner gets a break between lunch and dinner. Joy takes my hand and leads me to a chair close to the wall. She sits my sundae on the table (she added extra hot fudge this time) and I take a seat at the table. She grabs me a spoon and sits across from me.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asks.

"Not really." I say. She nods understandingly. Joy was my mom's best friend. She had taken my mother's death badly too like my father and I. But Joy was strong, she had always been strong and when I wasn't strong enough to get passed it, she became a mother figure to me and helped out my father. I will eternally be grateful for her.

I begin digging into my perfect hot fudge sundae.

"Have you thought anymore about college?" She asks.

"I can't go to college, you know that Joy." I tell her.

"Why not? You are smart enough." She says.

"Dad told you what happened today right?" I asked her.

"You will learn to control it…" She says.

"I can't leave Dad." I tell her finally.

"I can take care of your father." She slightly smiles. "Just think about it. So many colleges have started sending you things. Your mother would want you to go for it all and to live up to your potential." She says softly as she looks to the picture.

I follow her gaze to my mother's picture. It scared me; memories with her became more and more scarce. Soon, it would be like it was all a dream. I look back to Joy. "I'll think about it." I say as I finish my sundae. "I don't think I could ever leave though Joy. I can't leave Dad, I can't leave you and I can't leave the pack. What would be the point of dreaming?" I say as I walk to the back of the diner to the kitchen. I place the dish in the sink and begin rinsing it. Joy walks back to meet me.

"You don't have to do that." She smiles.

"Yes I do." I smile to her as I place the dish into the dishwasher.

She leans against the wall with her arms crossed across her chest. She watches me as I dry my hands and look back to her. "I want you to meet people. I want you to fall in love. I want you to travel. I want you to live your life. It just doesn't look like you are completely happy here." She says as if she's exhausted.

I smile to her. "I know you want that for me. I just can't think about leaving right now. Maybe someday." I tell her.

She smiles a little. "All I ask is that you think about the possibility of college." She says as she gently brushes a stray piece of hair from my face. "It could open so many opportunities for you."

"I'll think about it. I'm not promising anything." I tell her.

"Okay serious talk over, I promise." She smiles to me. "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon at noon. Your father asked to be my escort for the wedding." She smiles.

"The wedding?" I ask her, confused.

"You've forgotten already, oh dear. Do you have anything to wear? I'll have to take you when my shift ends. I'm sure Port Angeles will have something still open…" She rambles on and on. I place my hand on her to stop.

"What wedding? Who's getting married?" I ask her.

"Charlie Swan and Sue Clearwater. You remember don't you?" She looks concerned.

"That's tomorrow?" I ask, shocked. "I completely forgot."

"We'll go shopping once my shift ends. I'll stop by and pick you up." She smiles and rubs my arm gently. The bell rings alerting us that there is a visitor. She jumps at the bell and rushes off to the dining room.

I stiffen up instinctively when I catch site of the customer. An aroma of a thousand flowers fills the room, particularly gardenias, my mother's favorite flower. He has messy auburn hair and flawless features. He is built nicely, not too buff but enough muscle to make anyone wary of starting a fight with him. His eyes are a beautiful, mesmerizing green. I stop when I see him unsure why I'm so uncomfortable. He looks at me, his eyes don't leave mine. My heart stops. The way he was looking at me was like he was looking into my soul, reading me and enjoying me right there. I finally can breathe when his perfect mouth pulls into a smile.

Joy touches my arm; I pull my eyes away from his dazzling gaze. "You should go and get ready; I get off in a bit." She says to me. I look to the new customer. He smiles sweetly to me. I convince myself that I stiffened because of his amazing beauty that I wasn't used to. I convince myself that I reacted the way I did as a self-defense against him out of fear for falling for him. I smile to him simply and I walk out of the diner. I stop at the door, sensing that I shouldn't leave Joy there alone with him. Ricky was on his hour break, and he and Dad would return soon to be there for the dinner rush. I look at my watch thinking that she'll be safe and I begin walking to my house.

**A/N: Hey everyone! You all have been so wonderful with reviews/alerts/favorites. I can't thank you guys enough. Keep it up and I'll try to keep up the updates. (: I hope you've been enjoying this story. Hope to hear from you guys! Bye –Courtney.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

I went to pick up my car, and then I headed home. By the time I was done getting ready, Joy had gotten to my house. At first she seemed tense when I answered the door, but when I asked her if she was okay she smiled and said "of course".

We went shopping and she picked out a dress for me to wear and she paid for it. Then we went to eat at a nice, quiet Italian restaurant. Joy talked about Quil and Claire and her worries for them. She is worried about the insensitivity people of the tribe will have towards them, she fears they will be ridiculed for their relationship. I tried comforting her, but it is hard, a mother often worries whether or not there is reason to worry or not. She talked about my mother, about funny things at work, about the pack, about her and Quil's father. I got the sense that she just needed to talk, so I let her, and I listened to her, and I realized she'd listened to my ramblings for years, and I'd hardly ever listened to her. So, I let her talk and once in a while I threw in my thoughts, but last night was really all about her.

I stare at the mirror and hardly recognize myself. Joy had requested that I curl my hair and that I wear makeup. She said it would mean a lot to her and she was sure it would mean a lot to Sue. I spin around in my mirror double checking what I am wearing. My curls spin as I spin and when I stop they bounce to a stop. My dress is a beautiful lilac that is halter strapped and bells out a little below my chest. It came down to about mid-thigh. Joy had said it accentuated all of my best assets. In other words, it showed off my chest and legs and hid some of my waist. I could still not believe it was me in the reflection. I slide on my mother's locket and I grab my bag as my dad calls for me.

I rush down the stairs, almost falling at the bottom. Quil chuckles at my clumsiness.

"Quil!" I exclaim and I rush to him and embrace him. "Joy didn't tell me you were coming here." I say as I look him over in his suit. He had a light blue tie with his gray suit. "You clean up nice Quil." I wink to him playfully.

He nudges me and smiles to me. He looks me up and down. "You don't look to bad either." He smiles to me.

"Are you two ready? We are going to be late?" Joy says as she nudges me out of the house. Quil entwines our elbows as we walk out.

"Mom said I should escort you into the wedding." He smiles to me as he walks me to the car.

"So I'm a pity date?" I kid to him.

He looks me up and down again. "You sure as hell don't look like a pity date." He smiles as he opens the door for me to his mother's car. I lean to get in. He grabs me and leans close. "You look beautiful Melaine," he whispers to me and kisses my cheek softly. I blush and enter the car.

My dad opens the passenger door for Joy and he and Quil get into the car. He cranks up the car. Just before we pull away something at the edge of the woods catches my eye. I stare it closer, and I recognize him immediately, it's the guy from the diner yesterday. I stare at him as we drive away until he is out of sight.

I shake it off; it is just a coincidence that he was by my house. He was probably hunting or something.

We arrive at the wedding a few minutes before the ceremony, Quil escorts me in and then he abandons me for Claire. The wedding is set up on the beach with beautiful tents for the reception and pre-wedding preparation. There are flowers everywhere, Sue loves flowers. My dad leads Joy to our seats and I follow. I remember trying to push Joy and Dad together at one point not so long ago. They work together, they have chemistry and they both understand the pain of losing a loved one. But they wouldn't go for it; instead they continue to just be cute together, share inside jokes and pretend like they don't have chemistry to die for. I watch as the rest of the guests arrive. I notice Alice and Edward entering, Edward by Bella's wish and Alice by Charlie's. The whole coven probably wouldn't have been allowed.

The wedding was short and simple but beautiful all together. Sue looked so happy and Leah and Seth looked happy for her. I constantly find myself looking over to Joy and Dad throughout the whole ceremony because that could be them.

Everyone went to the tents for the reception afterwards. I am sitting at a table when Dad walks over. He holds out his hand for me to take. I smile and take it. He leads me to the dance floor. He holds me the way he used to when we would dance around in our house before my mother died. He touches me like I'm fragile, like if with too much pressure, I could shatter and be gone forever.

He leans down and whispers to me, "I'm very proud of you. You've become a beautiful woman. Everything will be okay. I'm sorry for not being there as much as you needed. I'm trying to change."

I smile up to him and hug him. "I love you Daddy." I whisper to him.

"I love you too sweetheart." He whispers.

The music stops and we stop. He kisses me on my forehead and smiles then he walks over to Joy and drags her onto the dance floor. I look around and see Seth dancing with Alice (weird) and Edward watching as he allows Jake to dance with Bella. I decide to take some air. I step out of the tent and walk down to the surf's edge.

I walk a couple of feet away from the party down the beach. The music is softened and the waves crashing beats out the music from the party. I hear something behind me; I tense up and turn around. I'm prepared to jump or phase. I freeze when I see who it is, the guy from the diner again.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

"Hey," he says smoothly. I'm tense again, just like yesterday. "You don't have to be frightened. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm Blake," he holds out his hand for me to shake.

"Why are you following me?" I ask him.

"You intrigue me." He says simply. "I wanted to talk to you. I couldn't in the diner yesterday."

"Why not?" I dare to ask.

"I wanted to talk to you alone with no one else. If I was going to hurt you, I already would have. Don't you think so?" He smiles a beautiful smile.

"I guess so. I'm Melaine." I say and hold out my hand for him to take warily.

He takes it, instantly, the feeling of ice contrasts with my scorching hand. I try to pull my hand away but he grips it tighter and pulls me against his chest. I take in his smell, it doesn't disgust me; it lures me in more than I ever thought.

"Vampire." I breathe, breathlessly.

"Werewolf," he mimics, his free hand goes underneath my chin and raises it to meet his eyes. I look into his eyes, the green dissolves and it turns a tantalizing, blood red. I gasp, his finger trails up from my chin and to my lips where it lands and stays as if to shush me. "Laney? Do you like it? I wanted to call you something no one else called you. Do you like it?" He whispers to me. I nod, half-dazzled, half-petrified. "Good." He whispers and his hands travel all over my body. "You are a beautiful creature. The most beautiful thing I've ever seen." He whispers as his hands continue to explore my body. His touch and roaming hands relax me as if I'm in a trance; I'm unable to move my eyes from his again. "See Laney, I've been watching you some, and you are mesmerizing. I just couldn't keep away. His hands travel back to my face and pull me inches from him.

I finally find my voice. "W-what do you want from me?" I ask with my voice shaking and not as strong as I wanted it.

"Just friendship. You are a good friend right Laney?" He asks.

"I can be." I say nervously.

"I need a friend." He whispers as his lips touch mine softly. I don't react, my wolf instincts mix with my girl instincts. I want to kiss him back but the wolf in me struggles with the fact that he is a vampire. He pulls away and I hear my name being called. "You can't tell anyone I was here." He says, kissing my cheek and then he leaves. I try to catch my breath and regulate it again. I shouldn't be reacting to him like this, heart racing and pounding through my chest, threatening to break out. I should be disgusted by him; usually werewolves are disgusted by vampires. I shouldn't have to catch my breath after being around him or looking into his eyes, whether they are the mesmerizing green or the tantalizing red. I turn around to face the voice after I've calmed myself.

"Melaine!" Jake calls again. I walk to meet him, I stop a foot away from him. I take a moment to admire him. He is wearing a smooth light grey suit with a bright teal tie. The light color contrasts his russet skin perfectly and gives him a natural glow. He was absolutely more stunning than I'd ever seen him. I look up to him unsure how I should act to him. _Was he still upset? Was I still upset? Did he see Blake? Did he see the kiss? If he did, did it make him a little jealous? Why did he leave before? _"Who were you with?" He asks bluntly.

"A friend," I say and he looks to me questioningly. "He lives around here. I met him in a diner in Port Angeles a while ago. He wanted to hang out but I told him I couldn't." I say and I realize that was probably the first lie I've ever told Jake. But it's not a complete lie. He probably did live around here and I did see him in a diner just not in Port Angeles. Jake still seems wary but he brushes it off.

"I'm sorry I left you yesterday…" he looks down.

"Yeah, what was that about? We were kind of in the middle of something." I say and bend down and pick up a stone and throw it into the ocean.

"I know," he says and he takes my hands and turns me to face him. "I had to leave, Alpha's orders."

"It must have been important." I say and look away from him and out to the ocean. The ocean always seems so calm this time of year, like a lake, peaceful.

"Not as important as you." He says and I turn to look up to him.

"Where did you go Jake?" I ask him.

He looks down. "Sam wanted me to patrol around the Cullens's house last night. He wouldn't take no for an answer. I'd rather have sorted out whatever last night was." He says simply.

"Do you really not get it Jake?" I ask him. "I hate her. I hate Bella. I hate what you are when she is around. I hate that you had to leave whatever stupid little fight we were having last night for her. I hate it." I push away from him. I can't take it anymore. Why was he trying to be all perfect? It was making me feel like I was crazy for my reaction last night. I wanted to be able to be mad at him. I wanted to not feel stupid for once with him. I needed it. Why couldn't he let me be the right one this time?

Jake grabs me and pulls me close to him. "I'm not letting myself get mad at you. I know you just want to be mad at me for some reason I don't understand but I'm not mad at you, I want to help you. You are one of my best friends, Melly. I'm not mad at you, please stop being mad at me. I can't take much more. Please Melly, can we stop fighting?" He asks and his eyes give me a puppy dog look and my anger collapses, and I collapse into his arms and I wrap my arms around him. He wraps his arms around me tightly. His hand brushes my head softly and then joins his other to wrap around me.

"Why do you have to be so perfect?" I ask him softly. He chuckles a little and I feel his chest rise and fall against my cheek. I look up to him and he is smiling down to me.

"I'm far from perfect Melly." He whispers to me. He spins me out of his arms. He leans down close to my ear, "Come dance with me." He whispers and leaves me breathless. He pulls me gently back to the tent. When we enter we go directly to the dance floor. A familiar tune begins to play, it is slow tempo and Jake begins swaying with me as I lean against him. I look up to him and meet his eyes. The twinkling lights do magnificent things to his features. His usually perfect features are even more perfect in this lighting. I smile to him knowingly.

"You have no idea Jake." I whisper.

"No idea of what?" He smiles a perfectly cute smile. I shake my head and he raises an eyebrow to me curiously. "You look so beautiful." He whispers.

Without thinking I lean up to him and press my lips against his. At first he is shocked but then he reacts. He leans into the kiss and the kiss turns passionate.

The kiss is everything I imagined and more. In movies they show fireworks, well this kiss had fireworks, lightning bolts, electric shocks, forest fires and every other possible thing you could think of. It was sweet, gentle, urgent and passionate all in a perfect moment. A moment I feared couldn't last forever.

A/N: I know finally an update! (: I'm sorry I haven't updated as much. I'm at the beach for a week. But I'll continue to keep updating… hopefully. I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for sticking with me! (:


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

I finally pull away, breathless. I read his face and I see want in it and something inside of me gets giddy over the want he shows to me. "I've wanted to do that for years Jake." I whisper to him. He leans closer and takes my lips to his and everything inside of me erupts with pleasure. I pull him closer, needing his body against mine. He smirks in the kiss.

This time he is the one to pull away. "Why didn't you do it sooner?" He asks smoothly. His lips brush over my cheek and neck and then he proceeds to nuzzling my neck.

I look around the room at everyone staring. My father looks a little worried, but Joy seems to be comforting him as she smiles to me. Embry winks at me when I meet his gaze. Bella glares at me as she sways with Edward. Sue and Charlie are so caught up in each other they haven't noticed anything. Leah gives me a small smile and hits Seth when he pretends to gag. I pull Jake down so that I can whisper into his ear.

"We need to go somewhere. Now." I say and I take his hand in mine and I begin pulling him out of the tent.

When we get a good distance from the tent, I let go of Jake and I take a few steps away from him. He tries to move closer but I shake my head. "I need to think clearly, I can't think clearly with you so close."

"It never bothered you before." Jake smirks and tests me by stepping closer. I take a step back.

"It had a little effect on me, but I'm afraid you've changed it from a little to a lot." I say and he smirks but looks to me questioningly as if he didn't understand what would change it. "You've never kissed me like that before." I said breathlessly.

Jake smirks to me and moves closer, I back up with every step he takes towards me. He keeps trying to move to me, I keep moving back until I'm pinned between the tree and him.

His body heat and mine surrounds us. With his touch, I become excited and the skin underneath his touch tingles. He leans close to me.

"You've never kissed me like that either." He whispers and his lips brush my collar bone. I try to push him away but he moans and instead his arms pin me between the tree and him, one on each side of me. He begins placing gentle, tender kisses on my collar bone and shoulder, these kisses are slow and gentle. They begin a journey up my neck. With each kiss, another butterfly is added to my stomach and my heart gains speed.

"Jake…" I say breathlessly. "Please, stop." I beg. He groans but his lips leave my skin. He keeps me pinned between him and the tree. "I have a few questions Jake…"

He groans and looks at me. The looks he gives me has hunger, love, passion and annoyance. He pouts with puppy dogs. "Can't you ask questions later?" He asks me. "Just go with it Melaine."

"Fine… but I have two very important questions that I need you to answer before you attempt to do whatever it is you have on your mind right now. I'm not like other girls Jake." I say proudly.

"Of course not." He kids.

"Do you really have any interest in me at all? Is it just the dress talking? Is it because I'm the only possible girl tonight? Because if it is I need you to stop, move your arms and let me walk away and we can pretend like we didn't share that kiss in there in front of everyone and we can go back to being whatever the hell we were. I can't take mind games Jake. Not right now." I say.

He ponders for a minute as if to think very seriously about what he is about to say next. "That is a lovely dress," he says as he runs his eyes up and down my body. He smiles. "Of course that's not the reason why I'm interested. I know you Melaine. I know you aren't some cheap hookup that I could have one night with and never talk to you again. I want you Melaine, not just for one night, but for as long as I could possibly imagine. I've wanted you for as long as I could remember, not only physically, although that would be nice too, I want you to be there always. I want you to be there when I come back from fixing a car. I want you to be there when I come back from a patrol. I want you to be there through every sad moment in my life and help me through it. I want you to hold me in your arms and tell me that everything will be okay no matter what crazy mistakes I make. Every big happy moment in my life has included you and I don't want that to change. I want to make new memories with you and reminisce about the old ones. I don't want to pretend like you don't mean the world to me, because you do. You always have, even when we were kids you meant the world to me, but somehow that relationship we had before has twisted and I can't think of you as the innocent girl who was like my sister anymore because I want you to be so much more now. I need you to be so much more now. I've waited for you for too long, and tonight you took the leap that I should have taken years ago and I never want to go backwards with you. I need you Melaine, I need you. I've always needed you, I just never had the guts to tell you because the last time I told someone I cared about them, it didn't work out and I wound up alone. Now that you've taken the leap, I can't go back to just being friends with you. I can't take my mind off of kissing you, not because I just want to fuck you and be over with it, but because that kiss that we shared in there and every kiss since has flown passed any possible thing I could have imagined. I guess what I'm trying to tell you Melaine, is that I love you and I will always love you." He finally stops and my heart is racing. At some point I began crying during his speech. I pull him closer and my lips crash against his. He clings to my dress in the back and deepens the kiss. He pulls away and smiles. "What was the other important question?"

"Oh…" I blush. "What about Bella?" I ask him.

He leans close to me; I can smell the forest off of him. "Bella who?" He smirks and then his lips touch mine and I get consumed by the kiss once again.

A/N: Hi! I hope you guys enjoyed. Is it worth it for me to continue posting? I'm hardly getting any response, reviews or alerts or favorites. Let me know if I should continue, please. IF you are reading this thank you, I appreciate it. (:


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter10:

Once again, I wake to the sound of my dad's truck pulling out of the driveway. Immediately, Jake swings in through my window; I'm still getting used to being with him. We aren't technically official but we are by most people's standards.

Jake crawls into my bed and his arms wrap around my waist and pull me against him. He kisses my neck and nuzzles my neck.

"How was patrol?" I giggle as he playfully bites my neck, he nips me again and I squirm in his arm for a minute but then I relax against his chest.

"We caught a trace of a vampire north of town; we are going to keep an eye on it. I want you to be careful if you go outside." He says and I can read the seriousness on his face. With the word vampire, my thoughts automatically go to Blake and I worry about him, although I don't know him, I have a connection with him.

"I will. Has it stayed around for a while?" I ask.

"Embry said he had got a small whiff of the smell before he entered into Cullen territory. It worries Sam, because that means it has been all around us. We are meeting with the Cullens to discuss if they've seen anyone unusual around. Also we are going to try to plan something for Bella's problem. Right now, we can't do anything… we've lost the scent a few miles west, it just disappears." He kisses me and nips my neck. I giggle a little and push all of my thoughts of Blake to the back of my mind. "I don't want to talk about pack business right now." He whispers.

I turn to face him. "What would you like to talk about then?" I smile to him.

"I'm not really in the mood to talk. It's early." He whispers as he pushes me to my back and he straddles me. He begins kissing me gently. I moan from pleasure when he hits my pleasure point on my neck. He nips it playfully and toys with it. My toes curl in pleasure. I giggle like a little school girl. We haven't made love yet but every time we get together we get closer and closer. Jake's hands go underneath my shirt and his slightly calloused hands feel perfect against my skin.

The doorbell rings and I jump. Jake rolls over and groans. "I'll be right back." I whisper and I kiss him gently. I rush to the doorbell and I try to straighten myself up on the way down. I release an exhausted breath and open the door.

"Sam?" I ask and he looks inside. "Do you want to come in?"

Sam smiles, nods and walks in. "I assume Jake is here. You two have been inseparable unless one of you has been on patrol. What has it been a couple of weeks? That new feeling should have worn off by now." Sam says as he takes a seat in my father's chair. I walk to the stair and I see Jake walking down the stairs. He smiles to me but this time he doesn't take me and kiss me automatically, he plays it cool for Sam. He does take my hand and leads me to the couch to sit beside him. When we both sit on the couch I curl up and lean against Jake.

"I need a favor from you Mel." Sam says.

"What is it?" I ask.

"I need you to patrol the north side during the meeting. We are meeting with the Cullens and I'm bringing extra forces because I don't want to take any chances. If they do have other allied vampires and they are adding up their numbers than I want us to have back up." Sam says. "All of the other areas are already assigned; I'm just short on numbers. Leah will be south of town, Embry and Quil will be to the east of you, that way they can assist both of you. I'm predicting the vampire doesn't stay in the same spot if he comes back. Collin and Brady are still too young to patrol so they are staying home to alert me of any danger there. I'm bringing Jake, Paul, Seth, and Jared with me to the Cullens. Jake will morph into human form so that he can communicate with them without the bloodsucker having to pry through our thoughts although he probably will anyways. I think it would make everyone more comfortable to have Jake in human form. Can you handle patrol by yourself?" He asks me. Jake pulls me closer.

"The North is where we saw him last. You can't put her there!" Jake says.

"Yes he can." I reply. "I have as much as responsibility to this pack as anyone. Plus, Embry and Quil will be close by and in my head so if I even think I smell vampire they will be there in moments. Like Sam said, it is unlikely that he would even be there again, he doesn't want to get caught." I say.

"I need to go with you." Jake says.

"You can't." I say and rub the back of his hand with my thumb. "You and Bella are the connection between us. She trusts you and you trust her. Without you the whole thing would be a mess. You have to be there." I say to him.

He looks to Sam and Sam nods. "Fine. But at the first smell of anything that could be close to vampire relation, you will tell Sam and I will come immediately." Jake says and I nod in agreement.

"Glad we got that settled." Sam says. "Jake we should be going. The meeting is soon we need to get our plan down. Paul promised he would escort Melaine to her guarding territory." Jake's hand squeezes mine tighter and he tenses. "He is already informed of the plan." On cue the door swings open.

I look to it and see Paul with a cocky posture and his arms crossed in front of his chest. He looks me up and down. Jake tenses again. My thumb rubs the back of his hand again.

"I can escort her." He says in an instant.

"You can't. Like Mel said, we need you the entire meeting." Sam says. Paul winks at me. Jake jumps up and charges at Paul. His arm goes to Paul's throat and Jake pushes Paul against the wall with a loud thud.

"Jake!" I shriek. Paul smirks slightly.

"I've seen your thoughts Paul and if you so much as even think about getting close to her, I'll kill you." Jake threatens.

Paul chuckles mockingly then he stops and glares at Jake. "Remove yourself from me." Jake removes his hold on him. "You don't own her Jake; a fuck here and there doesn't make her yours." Paul says angrily. Jake punches Paul which makes his temper flare.

"Stop!" I shriek again. "Please!" I beg. I turn to Sam. Paul punches Jake across the face. Jake falls to the floor. I rush to him and he gets up and is about to pounce on Paul.

"Stop!" Sam orders in his Alpha voice. He was obviously waiting until Paul hit Jake to make it even. I look to him and the fighting ceases automatically. "That's enough. Paul will escort Melaine without any problems. Jake, you and I will be leaving now." Sam says. He walks to me and pats me on the head gently. "Keep in touch." He whispers to me. "Come on Jake, now we don't have time for this." Sam says.

Jake grabs my arm and pulls me to him. He gives me a possessive kiss as if to warn Paul that I was his.

"Jake now!" Sam orders and Jake groans. He kisses me sweetly once more and then he leaves. I watch him leave and suddenly I am worried about tonight, so many things could go wrong. I turn to Paul and see his mischievous smirk. I take a deep sigh and close the front door.

A/N: Thanks for the AMAZING response from all of you. (: I greatly appreciate it. It has motivated me to post this early. I hope you are enjoying. (: -courtney.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

I had rushed upstairs to change into my jean shorts and a lavender camisole. I ran a brush through my hair and examined the developing mark on my neck where Jake had bit and sucked. I smiled slightly at the thought of it.

Paul and I are on our way to my guarding territory. When we get a few feet from the house, I start conversation. For some reason, I didn't feel comfortable talking about the things I was sure we would talk about. As we look I keep stealing glances at him, trying to read him, he was hard to read sometimes.

"What kind of things have you been thinking about me Paul Lahote?" I ask him curiously.

"You know what kind of things based on Jake's reaction." He smirked to me.

"You know he gets jealous." I say calmly, Paul flirted with almost everyone; it wasn't shocking that he had dirty thoughts about me. He was constantly horny and I had become so that it didn't have an effect on me anymore. Some girls still took it personally, but I knew that was just who Paul was, temper and sex twenty-four/seven.

"It was before you guys became official." He says carelessly. He suddenly stops, and I stop and look at him. His hands go to each of my upper arms and he squeezes them hard. I yelp slightly from pain and shock. He leads me to walk backwards until my back is against a rough, hard surface. "Not that you guys are official yet right? You both have no idea what you are." He smirks to me. One of his hands goes to my stomach and pushes it to hold me in place. His other hand starts traveling down my arm. "So really, I could do whatever I wanted with you. He hasn't claimed you as his yet." I bite my bottom lip nervously. _He wouldn't. _I continued to tell myself but there was a slight doubt that knew that sometimes Paul was impulsive and didn't think and he went with his desires without thinking about the consequences. The pack takes mating seriously. When two people mate they have practically mated for life, the exception of course being imprinting, like with Leah and Sam.

"Don't." I whisper to him. He smirks to me.

"I've thought about this moment before, it kind of driven Jake crazy. Instead of you saying don't, you beg me to take you right here." Paul whispers as his hand travels down and caresses my backside. I gasp when he squeezes it gently. "I've seen you and Jake together. It isn't hard to understand what makes you want something." He whispers and his hand travels up my body, I close my eyes and try to pretend that I am not really here. His hand caresses my breast gently. I wait for a squeeze like before but it doesn't come. I open my eyes and meet his powerful stare. I worry because I don't know if he is teasing or if he's serious. "If I were Jake, I would have taken you that first night at the wedding; I would have ripped your dress to shreds and watched as you trembled beneath me. What no witty remark Melaine?" He smirks to me. I shiver a little between him and the tree.

"Sad thing is, I want Jake and not you." I retort. "You can have your fantasies Paul, but you can't claim me."

"If I tried hard enough I could make you beg for me." He smirks.

"I'm sure you could. I bet you'd be mind-blowing." I say sarcastically.

"You forget how I see the way you react to a touch." He says, he squeezes my breast and I gasp. "Sometimes, lust can overpower love." He whispers to me and leans closer daring to kiss me.

"Not for me Paul. I'm sorry." I say sincerely. I did feel bad for him, his parents had divorced and he needed so badly to be happy. I could see that. I'm sorry that I can't be that person for him. Underneath the jerk, there's still that fragile kid who watched as his mother left his father and him with nothing, not even a goodbye.

He pulls away and sighs. "It was worth a shot kid." He smirked to me. I smile a little relieved. I push off the tree and start walking. He soon joins me. "I am an amazing fucker." He smirks.

"I have no doubt about that. It's just… it's Jake, and I love him." I say to Paul and I realize I haven't said it to Jake yet. He told me at the wedding but I had gotten so caught up that I'd never told him. It never came up again really; I never thought to tell him. I regret that immensely now.

Paul and I continue to walk until we get to the territory. Once we get there we are greeted with another visitor.

A/N: Sorry short chapter! I will update soon! I promise! (: Hope you enjoyed. -Courtney


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

Embry runs up to me, picks me up and spins me around to greet me. I don't miss his warning glare to Paul and I laugh a little. I kiss him on the cheek when he sets me down.

"Did he behave?" Embry asks me.

"Of course, it is Paul we are talking about." I smirk to him.

"Jake asked me to check on you two. He's kind of freaking out." Embry laughs a little. He looks over to Paul and smiles. "Hi Paul." Embry says simply. Paul mumbles something I can't quite understand. "Sam said they were ready for you. He said you'd know where to meet them."

Paul nods and he turns to me. "I just wanted to remind you that you have options." He winks at me. "I'll see you later guys." Paul morphs and runs away from us.

I focus back on Embry he seems as if his spirit has fallen slightly. I had sensed that something wasn't quite right with him when he came up but I didn't want to bring it up when Paul was here. Now, I don't see any reason to hold back.

"Want to talk about it?" I ask sitting on the oak stump and looking to him knowingly.

"How do you do that?" He asks me with a small smile that never reaches his cheeks. He walks over and shares the big tree stump with me.

"It's a gift." I say in a joking tone although I'm sure the subject we are about to talk about is not a joke.

"It's my mom again," he sighs and with those words, it is amazing how much more relieved he looks. "I'm just grounded for all eternity, no big deal." He says bitterly. My hand rests on his gently and I move closer to him. "It's just not fair. Everyone's parents in the pack know the secret with the exception of Paul, Brady and I. It just isn't fair, my mom is already an outsider in the village, and she feels like I hate her too. I've tried telling her so many times but that stupid Alpha Order won't allow it. She'll hate me by the time I'm old enough to move out. I just want her to understand, and maybe that would make it easier for people in the tribe with pack kids to talk to her. She's always so lonely now. It kills me, everything I do to her. I leave her alone, I disobey her, I lose my temper, she shouldn't have to deal with that, she didn't ask for this." He sighs exhaustedly.

I lean my head on his shoulder. "Your mom has done very well in raising you." I whisper to him. "Maybe the Order will lighten up, once this whole ordeal is settled maybe it won't be so dangerous for her to know." I try comforting him. It's a long bet, Sam is very strict on only certain people knowing. He was lax with me because I had just lost my mother at the time when I kept seeing my dad sneak out. I had confronted him about it. I cried for hours and he could tell I saw the broken look in his face, and that look still haunts me. My dad only told me what he was up to because he didn't want me to think that he didn't want me. Sam reluctantly let it go and I've been in the know with the pack ever since.

"It's stupid, I should be there with her now. She told him she was fixing me dinner because I hadn't snuck out in a couple of nights. I guess I ruined that this time once again." Embry said. I rub his hand in my gently.

"Your mom loves you Em." I say to him softly. "I need to go see her by the way, I haven't been over in forever. Would you mind if I came over for dinner one night?" I ask him.

He smiles. "You've never needed an invitation. If I believe correctly, you used to just show up without any sign of interest from my part." He laughs slightly.

I suddenly feel like I'm being watched. I look to my right to see Leah in a shy stance.

"Leah…" Embry says almost breathlessly. I look to him, confused. Since when did he talk to Leah that way?

I turn back to Leah. "Sam told me to tell everyone to be careful and that he has a funny feeling about tonight." Leah says quietly.

"Thanks," I smile to her.

"Leah, can we talk?" Embry asks. Leah stiffens and seems more nervous. It's cute that he makes her nervous.

"I have to get back, everything starts in a few minutes." She says softly . "Have fun on patrol maybe I'll see you guys later." I catch her lingering look on Embry and if I wasn't looking at her I wouldn't have caught it. It was fleeting and gone as soon as it had shown.

As she starts to look away I turn to Embry. "You slept with her." I whisper and I see the blood rush to his face. He tries to deny it but he knows I see. "What the hell are you doing here? You said you wanted to talk to her, go!" I demand.

"You'll be okay?" HE asks.

"Not if you don't go so that I can hear all the lovely details, and I will hear the details." I smile to him.

"Quil-" I don't let him finish.

"I'll tell him you are running late. Now get your ass over there!" I demand, Embry kisses me on the cheek and then runs out of sight. I catch his goofy smile as he falls out of sight.

I morph into my wolf form to communicate with Quil. I tell him that Embry will be there in a bit. I decide to morph back into my human form. Thinking will be simpler that way for a little bit. That way if Blake comes to see me, the pack won't know. As soon as I morph I feel someone's presence. My heart quickens and my breath catches in my throat.

"How cute, two pups in love…" a familiar voice purrs and I finally take notice of the familiar gardenia aroma. I relax a little bit but not completely.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

I spin around and look at Blake; he is leaning against a tree so casually as if he isn't putting both of us in danger by being here. The sun that barely shoots through the trees catches his skin in spots and it sets fire to a thousand of diamonds on his porcelain skin. His eyes remain red as they stare back at me powerfully. His auburn hair is a perfect mess, as if he ran his fingers through it systematically. His hair made him look dangerous and safe all at the same time. I take note of the silver, circle, modest pendant on a leather cord around his neck. I wonder for a second what the meaning of it was, vampires usually chose their image carefully. Take the Cullens for example. Alice dresses herself like her peppy personality. Edward takes a dark, romantic simple approach unlike Emmett who wears skin tight shirts to show off his unbelievable muscles. With eternity, you could be whoever you wanted whenever you wanted. I guess I should have thought about that earlier, with my new "gift" my aging will slow down and I will have a longer life than most humans, making my life span closer to eternity.

I pull myself from my thoughts and focus on him and the task at hand now."You shouldn't be here." I warn him.

"I've never been the cautious type." He smiles and in seconds he's in front of me. His closeness makes my heart race. It confuses me. I love Jake, why do I have this reaction to him? He excites me. He draws me in, he's the reason I wanted so badly to patrol and the reason why I decided to be in human form at the moment. It would take a while for the pack to settle with the Cullens which gave me time to be on my own with my own thoughts and I didn't tell Quil why Embry would be late so when he notices my thoughts aren't with him, he'll probably assume I'm with him, helping him with something.

Blake struts over to me powerfully as if he didn't have a care in the world, as if I would never resist him. I see something flash in his eyes when they focus close to my face but not directly at my face. Before I can tell what it is that bothers him or what the look actually held, it's gone as fast as it came.

"Did you miss me?" He asks smiling.

"I hardly know you. What is there to miss Blake?" I ask him.

He is close to me now. He grips my upper arm and pulls me against him. Something tells me to run, to get out of his arms and take off. Something tells me to tell Jake and the rest of the pack everything. Then those thoughts fade away as I look into his mesmerizing eyes. I can't look away from him, not for a second. His eyes burn into mine as if he was searching for something as if he needed something from me.

"You don't feel this connection?" He whispers to me seductively. One of his hands trail up and down my arm, it runs up and over my shoulder pulling my hair off of my neck. I can't look away from his burning red eyes as his hands touch me gently as if I were fragile, as if he could break me if he pressed harder.

The same thing from before flashes on his eyes when he looks to my neck but he quickly hides it. "Laney?" He asks.

"Hm?" I say speechless from his touch and gaze.

"I asked you a question." He says calmly. His hand goes down my shoulder and brushes over my chest, my breath catches and I'm shocked by the thrill I get from his simple actions. "Don't you feel this connection?" He whispers close to me.

"I do." I whisper back. "It scares me."

He pulls me against his chest, his arms wrap around me. His cool chest conflicts with my burning flesh. "Darling, you never have to be scared of me." He whispers as his hands run through my hair.

I look up to him, his hands are still in my hair the way he looks at me worries me and excites me. "Why are you here Blake?"

"I needed to see you." He says. "You said you'd be my friend. I need your help."

"What do you need my help for?" I ask him.

"Maybe we should sit down, it's kind of a long story." Blake says.

"If we don't hurry, the pack will get worried and come find me. That wouldn't be good for either one of us." I say. He sighs.

"When are you free?" He asks.

"Tomorrow." I say softly. "We can't meet here or in Forks though, it's too risky." I say.

"Port Angeles then." He offers. "Eight sharp." He said. I nod in agreement. He grips my upper arms again tightly.

"You have to go…" I whisper. He leads me backwards until my back is pressed against the tree. One hand goes up to my hair and pushes it off of my neck. The look in his eyes has returned but he doesn't hide it again. I begin to worry; his hold is starting to hurt. He looks to a spot on my neck; his fingers run over it as if to see that it's real. I wince a little when it touches it. Jake left me with a nice mark on my neck from his teasing this morning and it's beginning to form on my neck. He presses the mark as if he were testing its genuineness. I squirm a little from the pressure and slight discomfort I feel from it. He leans down and takes my lips in his and when our lips touch, I'm not thinking of Jake or anyone else, I'm thinking of his perfect lips and the ability they have to thrill me. His tongue enters my mouth and proceeds to begin claiming it. His body presses against mine completely; his hold on my upper arm grows tighter. I moan a little as he gently massages my tongue with his. I feel him smile a little at the sound. After a while his tongue glides out of my mouth and he bites down on my bottom lip causing me to moan again. He pulls away; his eyes are full of desire and lust. I'm breathless as I look into his red eyes.

"You are mine." He says possessively and I shake a little at the tone of his voice. He's never used a tone except for gentle with me. "I don't care if this pup is interested in me, you are mine. Be at Port Angeles at eight sharp or I'll come and find you." He warns and then in a second he is gone.

A/N: I really hate to request reviews because I want you to review if you want to but I didn't get hardly any feedback on the past two chapters which makes it difficult for me to be inspired to continue on with this story. It would be greatly appreciated if you would let me know what you think. I do really appreciate all of the alerts and favorites for this story. -Thanks, Courtney.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I know finally! An update! (: Enjoy. **

Chapter 14:

I release a breath that I didn't know I was holding in. I'm quickly becoming worried about whatever it is that I share with Blake. I collapse onto the ground and bring my knees to my chest and I wrap my arms around them. I allow the cool air to dance on the surface of my scorching skin.

What did he mean I was his? I hardly know him. And did he call Jake a pup? He wouldn't have taken that well if he was here. Why didn't I say anything when he said it? Why did I let him kiss me like that? Sure, Jake and I aren't official but we practically are, I'd be upset if I knew Jake was kissing someone else, especially the way Blake and I kissed. I know I need to somehow separate Blake and I, put some distance between us, maybe this whole thing will settle down and we could actually be friends and he wouldn't kiss me like that again. I could not go to Port Angeles to give him a warning that I don't want to see him like that, and that what he did was not okay. He can't just go kissing and claiming people especially if they are in love with someone else. But if I was so deeply in love with Jake why did I react to Blake that way and why did I suddenly forget my feelings for Jake when Blake was so close? If I didn't go to Port Angeles, Blake said he would come and find me. That would be catastrophic; so many horrible things could result from that. He could come and find me and be spotted by the pack and he'd be ripped into shreds in seconds, without explanation. Or he would come find me and Jake would be there, he could hurt Jake and then I'd have to live with that forever. Or if he came for me, he could start a war, Sam would take that as vampires crossing the boundary and he'd characterize Blake as an ally with the Cullens and therefore taking it that the Cullens broke the treaty (not the old one, the new one that was drawn up after Reneesmee's birth) and full war would break out, children of the tribe would change sooner and sooner until we had enough numbers to keep up with the threat. I had to go to Port Angeles whether I liked the idea or not. I had to keep the secret for a little bit longer, maybe I could talk Blake into leaving town, there is always a slim chance of hope.

I hear heavy breathing and I look up.

"What the hell Mel?" Embry asks out of breath. "Quil told me I needed to rush over here because he couldn't hear you. I rushed all the way over here and you are curled up in a ball in a daze. What the hell happened? Don't you remember if Jake doesn't get a check in on you he's going to flip a shit?"

I take a deep breath. I couldn't falter. The three people that would be the first to see something was wrong would be Jake, Embry and Quil. Quil probably had a less chance seeing as we didn't spend much time together, he had Claire and he was focused on her. Still, if I didn't pull through and act okay now, he'd know something was wrong and I wouldn't be able to shake him off until he pulled every bit of it out of me.

I stand up and brush myself off when I realize some of the grass has stuck to my legs. "Sorry, I got caught up in my thoughts." I smile. "You know me and my thoughts."

Embry relaxes a little. "Quil has been telling Sam you are good. I'm sure Sam can sense that you aren't online, so to speak, but he doesn't want to anger Jake. Let me tell Quil you are fine." He morphs for a second and then runs behind some brush. He returns in record time. "I told Quil I need some time," he says as he walks beside me and sits beside the spot where I just was, "I'll pay him back later." He winks at me. I smile to him and sit down beside him. I lean against him and lay my head against his arm. "What were you thinking about Melly?" He asks gently.

"I'm just thinking about Jake, and you, and everyone really." I say simply, hoping that will stop him from inquiring further although I know it won't.

"Let's start with me," he smiles, "since I am the most important thing in your life." He winks at me.

"I don't think Jake will take that comment kindly." I smile to him.

"He has become quite fond of you; I'm going to have to put a stop to that." He smiles to me.

"So you can go and have a girlfri-"

"I never called Leah my girlfriend Mel, don't go putting labels on things that don't need labels." Embry says.

"Doesn't _need_ labels? How can you tell what _needs_ labels? You slept with her, you need to decide what exactly you two are, I hope you aren't thinking about labeling her a 'one night stand'." I look to him warily.

"God, Melly, of course not. If I planned on labeling her that I wouldn't have cared enough to go talk to her. She's the one who was closer to that side of the decision. She was worried I'd break her heart. She said she couldn't handle losing someone else to a soul mate. So I told her we didn't have to label ourselves, but I want to be with her, whether she was my imprint or not. Last night, felt perfect, I can't imagine feeling more complete in my life." Embry says to me seriously.

I lean into him more. "That, my friend, is one of the sweetest things I've ever heard." I smile to him.

He kisses me on the forehead. "So when are you and Jake planning on putting on the labels?"

I shrug. "It's really up to him. I'm waiting for him to ask me." I tell Embry.

"Does Jake know you are waiting on him?" Embry asks.

I shrug again. "If he knows me as good as we all think he does, then he should."

"Is that what you were thinking about?" Embry asks.

I nod. "What if I'm not good enough for the label?" I ask him.

He laughs. "What if he is not?"

"He's top of the line." I tell Embry. "He's already made the cut."

"You are sure about him?" Embry asks me. "I don't want to have to break his face."

"I don't plan on there being any face breaking." I smile to him and lean against him. I can feel the warmth off of his bare upper body; it has soft spots in all the right places.

"You're my best friend Melly." He practically whispers and I look up to him at his sudden serious tone. "You've always been there for me; I don't want to screw that up. I hope that this new situation we are both in, labels or not, aren't going to ruin that. I like this, I like just sitting here with you leaning against me and talking about anything and everything. I hope you know that I'm always there for you." He says.

"Of course I do. You're my best friend too. You know that I'm always going to share a love for you that no other guy could ever have." I tell him.

"Good, how about you tell me what exactly is going on?" He says and suddenly I'm caught off guard. Of course he could see through it, of course he knew, of course, he is Embry, he is my best friend.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

For a second, I think about trying to get around the truth. For a second, I think about going on about my mom. For a second, I think about possible ways to distract him. For a second, I think about lying to my best friend. Then I look into his honest, brown eyes and I see the deep caring that he holds for me and I know, right then that I can't lie to him that I have to tell him the truth.

I tell him about Blake in the diner. I tell him about Blake following me to the wedding. I tell him about the conversation with Blake and how I found out he was a vampire. I tell him about the fact that Blake is the vampire we are after. I tell him that for some reason, I feel the need to protect him. I tell him about our conversation tonight. I tell him everything and when I'm finished, Embry doesn't have judging eyes, he has worry in them but also relief at finally knowing.

"You plan on meeting him at Port Angeles don't you?" He asks me carefully.

"I need to." I tell him. "Even if it is to push him away, I have to meet him. You have to understand what Blake coming to find me would result in."

"I know." He says solemnly. "He can't come here. If he comes even an inch within our territory, Sam will take it as an attack and he'll have to act as Alpha. I don't like the idea of you going there by yourself, you are new to this whole pack thing, you don't have control of yourself, it's dangerous, and he's dangerous."

"He would never hurt me." I tell him.

"How could you possibly know that?" He asks me.

"I don't really know. I can just feel it. Even if I was in danger, I would just follow my instincts. I need you to trust me Embry, and I need you to not tell anyone." I tell him seriously.

"And if something was to happen? What then?" He asks.

I shrug, "I guess I'll have to rely on you to get my butt out of a bad situation. Nothing will happen Embry. I promise." I smile to him.

"I don't think anyone would take this well that I'm agreeing to this." Embry says to me warily.

"No one ever has to know. If they do find out, I forced you to let me go." I smile to him trying to ease the tension. I bump into him playfully. "Don't worry Em, I'll be fine."

He releases a breath, "I don't know why I even bothered, you had your mind set up. What can I do to help?"

"As of right now, you can't do anything. Jake hasn't tried to make plans tomorrow night, but if he does, I'll need you and Quil to be with him so he doesn't try to be with me. Can you do that?" I ask.

"You are asking me if it would be a problem to spend time with one of my best friends." He teases.

"I take that as an agreement." I smile to him.

"An agreement to what?" Leah asks as she walks over to us, we hadn't noticed she'd come up, I wonder how much she heard. I look to Embry hoping he would get me out of this.

"I was telling Melaine how horrible it is that she spends so much time with Jake now." Embry says to me playfully.

"And I was telling Embry how horrible it was that my _best_ friend couldn't even tell me he was falling for someone." I play right back and Embry elbows me in the side for my comment. I giggle.

"Oh… Embry you are falling for someone?" Leah says and tries to seem innocent.

Embry stands up and walks towards her. She runs to meet him and she throws her arms around him. I'm not used to Leah acting so intimately with anyone but Sam, but it's nice to see them so happy. Embry and Leah both have this goofy 'I'm in love' smile. Leah leans close against him. "So who is this mysterious woman you are falling for?" She teases Embry as she trails her finger from his neck up to his cheek, over his lips, down his neck and down his chest.

Embry moans in pleasure and I feel uncomfortable staying here and watching them. Leah turns her attention to me, but Embry keeps her in his embrace. "The meeting is over. Jake and Sam both want to see you; I'm not sure who you should go to first." She says gently with a genuine smile on her face.

I nod and smile to both of them. "I'll see you two tomorrow. Oh and Leah?"

She looks to me. "Hm?"

"Don't you dare break his heart." I smile as I morph into my wolf and run through the forest, back to town as quickly as possible.

When I get into town I quickly turn back into my human self and slide on my lace-trimmed camisole and my athletic shorts. The first sound I hear is giggling and it intrigues me. I walk in the direction of the diner wondering who it could be. I stop in my tracks when I see Joy and my dad closing up the diner. For years I had wanted them together and they had denied that there was anything. "We are like brother and sister Melly." My dad had told me when I first started thinking they had feelings for each other. "It would be like you and Quil, sweetheart," Joy added a year or two later when I still suspected them; "it would never feel right." As I watched them together, I couldn't imagine anything more right between two people. As my dad pulled the diner door closed and turned the key in the lock, Joy had rested her hand on my dad's back in a gentle, soft manner. As soon as he removed the key and put it back in his pockets his hands went around her. He pulled her close to her and whispered in her ear, erupting a new case of giggles on her behalf. Joy swayed slightly in his arms as if she was that giddy.

A hand rests on my shoulder and I jump. "You shouldn't spy on your father." Jake's voice whispers smoothly close to my ear. I relax at the realization that it was his voice. His breath against my skin is so hot. It sends goose bumps up and down every inch of my body. His warm arms wrap around my waist and his chest presses against my back. I'm instantly encompassed in warmth and I feel safe in his arms.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed! Sorry for the slow update thanks for sticking with me. It took me a while to write this chapter… I don't know why. Next chapter… more Jake/Melly I know you guys, it's been a while, apologies.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

I lean into Jake and he starts trailing kisses across my shoulder and up my neck. I moan softly in pleasure when he kisses the mark he placed on my neck earlier. His tongue dances over the mark and he bites it playfully. Then his tongue dances over it again as if to heal a wound he caused. I smile and I turn to face him abruptly. He is caught off guard but he relaxes and smiles. I wrap my arms around his neck and begin running my fingers through the hair that is within reach of my fingers, I can tell from his facial expression that he is enjoying it. His arms wrap around the small of my back and he pulls me against him. I smile to him. Jake leans down and his lips meet mine in a wave of passion that doesn't last long enough. He leans closer to me and kisses the mark he made on my neck again, and then he leans closer to my ear. I can feel his hot, heavy breath against my skin and I lean more and more against him, wanting him to take me right there without a care of who could walk by and see us. His hands trail underneath my shirt; the heat and the slight roughness make me moan into him. "I want you." He says with a rasp and his lips brush my earlobe with every movement making me want him more. I moan from the sensation it is sending me. He knows all the right things to do. I lean more into him and I begin kissing his bare chest.

"That's going to have to wait." Sam's voice interrupts and I jump from shock. I put some space between Jake and me, but he still has his arms around me. I bring my hands to my face trying to cool myself down; trying to make the blush, which has traveled all over my body, disappear.

"Sam…" Jake groans.

"I won't hear it Jake. You knew I needed to talk to her before you started all of this, it's going to have to wait." Sam declares. "Jake you can choose to come with Melaine and I or you can wait somewhere for her to return."

"Of course I'm going with her." Jake says.

"Okay then let's go somewhere no one will be in our business." Sam says and he morphs into his wolf form right there. Jake let's go of me and suddenly I feel cold without him. Jake and I follow him and we morph too. I look back to the diner, Dad and Joy are both gone. Jake has moved up beside Sam and they are both looking at me.

_Are you ready? _Sam's voice enters my head.

_They will tell you, Melaine, if something is going on. _Jake reassures.

I nod and I move up beside Jake. Sam takes off and we quickly follow. I'm faster than both of them; it must be a thing with being female because Leah and I are the fastest in the pack. Instead of going my fastest, I don't try so hard so I can follow Sam and stay with Jake.

I hear Sam's chuckle enter my thoughts.

_What? _I ask him.

_You were just thinking about how fast you can run. It's comical._ Sam says into my head.

_You didn't find it comical when I smoked you the first time I went out with everyone. I remember everyone feeling bitter about that. _I think to them.

_We were just shocked._ Jake adds in, joining the conversation.

_Men are supposed to be dominating in this pack, and yet, you and Leah trot along and can smoke us in a race. It's a jab at all of our egos._ Sam says.

Now it's my turn to laugh. _I've never trotted anywhere before. And you guys should get used to it; girls always have the brains, now we have the speed. Soon you'll be taken over. _I kid with both of them.

_We will always have the strength though. _Jake says.

I laugh. _We'll see about that._

Sam comes to a stop and Jake and I both do too. I look to both of them and look at my surroundings, we have to be in the middle of nowhere, we aren't even in a clearing.

_Wolf or human?_ Sam asks referring to the forms we want to take.

_Human._ I say instantly. _I don't need you two in my head longer than necessary._ They both chuckle at this and I walk away behind a tree and I change back into my human form and into my clothing.

I walk back and they've already changed back into their jean shorts. I look to both of them and for the first time I see real similarity between the two. I used to be awestruck by both Sam and Jake's bare chests but now it's almost second nature to see it.

I sit down beside both of them and I look from one to the other waiting for someone to start the conversation. I couldn't tell which direction this was going to go and I had no idea what I was going to say but I couldn't let either of them know what was going on, at least not yet. Maybe I would be able to tell them someday, but not today, today I had to keep my cool, I had to hide the fact that tomorrow I was going to meet with a vampire behind everyone's back. When they did find out who know if they would ever forgive me, especially Jake. All I could do right now was play it cool, lie to them, and pray that they could forgive me.

"Melly…" Sam's voice brings me out of my thoughts and I look to him, he looks to me strangely. "Did you hear what I said?"

"Sorry…" I apologize and look down. "My mind was somewhere else."

"That seems to be becoming a habit." Sam says slightly bitterly.

"I'm sorry about earlier too." I say and I'm about to go into a full rant but Sam seems like he's not ready to listen.

"What could have possibly been your reason for not changing today? We made it clear that we would need to be in contact with everyone. I made it clear the risk of the vampire; you should have been ready to attack at any moment. Instead you were in your weaker form, in more than one way, physically, mentally, emotionally. Vampires are more of a risk to us in human form than you could possibly imagine. I shouldn't have trusted a rookie. I thought you would have the sense to understand the importance of tonight. Damn it Melly, things could have went so wrong." He says seriously. If only he knew how wrong they went and how wrong they possibly could get.

"I am _not_ a rookie, I just got caught up. Not everyone can be as emotionless as you." I say and instantly regret my words but I can't take them back. I look into his tempered eyes and I realize just how much trouble I was in and just how much trouble I could be in by the end of tonight. I just wish Jake wasn't here to see this…


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

"Melaine…" Jake warns and his eyes send me a look that screams for me to be careful.

"Emotionless?" Sam says angrily. He looked at Jake and then me. "I just don't let my feelings get in the way of performance, unlike two other wolves I know."

"Don't bring Jake into this," I say softly, suddenly I feel as if Sam was my Alpha and the wolf inside of me was disappointed I had displeased him. In history, the Alpha would have mated with all the females, chosen one to mate with for life and given the rest to his pack mates. The women would always wish to please the Alpha above anything, and their second wish was to please their mate. That had been how things were a lifetime ago, and I suddenly felt that urge in myself to please him as if I lived in those times, as if it were my very purpose to please the Alpha and the men of the pack. I try to shake off the feeling but it still lingers within me.

"I'm disappointed in you Melaine." Sam says and I'm thankful he didn't rant to Jake and I and didn't try to place blame on Jake, none of this was his fault. Jake hadn't done anything wrong. How could he possibly know that a very seductive vampire had claimed me as his own and had created this feeling inside of me that made me think there was this magical connection between the both of us? None of it was Jake's fault and he didn't deserve any of this. I should have stayed away from Jake, but I just couldn't everything inside of my very being pushed me towards him, into his arms, and into his kisses. Both wolf and human parts of me pushed me towards him, unlike with Blake where only the human wanted him and the wolf begged for me to run.

"I know!" I say before he can say anything else. "You just need to trust that there was a good reason for me to not be in my wolf form. I won't disappoint you again, that you can count on." I say sincerely and Sam looks to Jake and then back to me. I don't move my eyes from him; suddenly it is as if we are having a staring contest and if I back down, he wins and I'm always weak to him.

He looks away, not giving into my immaturity. "I do trust you Melaine, if I didn't I wouldn't have put you out there alone tonight. I just wish I put someone with you now. I'm worried about you. You've never been this secretive. It would help so much if you'd just tell us what it is you were doing." Sam says seriously.

I spare a look to Jake. He seems like he is with Sam on this, although he hasn't said or done anything to prove otherwise. The way he is looking at me as if he is desperate to know, kills me and I instantly wish I didn't look at him. "I can't tell you. If I could, I would have. But I can't. Please," I say looking to both of them, "you guys have to trust me. I know what I'm doing. I'm sorry I disappointed both of you. I'm safe, everyone is safe and since you guys don't seem to be angry about anything else, I take it the meeting went well."

"It exceeded expectations." Sam says coolly.

"By that you mean what exactly?" I ask smiling a little.

Sam smiles back, I look to Jake and he seems a little more relaxed now. "It means you'll find out when everyone else in the pack does Melaine. You aren't any more special than Embry or Quil." Sam smiles to me. I sigh and droop my shoulders dramatically. "Now, other important news." Sam looks to Jake.

"You think it's best to talk about this now?" Jake asks Sam and Sam nods.

"Melaine, as you well know, Emily is expecting a child." Sam says and I nod. "I don't plan on being a big role in the pack when the baby arrives. Jake will being taking over as Alpha soon so that everything can be in order when the baby makes its appearance." He says.

I nod again and look to Jake quizzically. "Okay…" I say. "Thanks for informing me?"

Sam chuckles. "Just keep listening Mel. Jared is planning on taking his relationship with Kim to the next level. Jake and I have already discussed this with him. He has no wish to remain Beta, and actually wishes to be less involved in the pack. He plans on marrying Kim and immediately starting a family with her." My hand covers my mouth. That's huge news. Jared has never really openly shared any of his feelings or thoughts with people, and to find out this is shocking, it feels like I'm in on a dirty little secret. I find myself smiling though. Everyone seems to be getting their happy endings, even Embry and Leah now.

"Sam asked me who I'd want to be my Beta, Melaine." Jake says and I turn my attention to him, still not fully grasping everything. "I knew exactly who I needed to be my Beta. You, Melaine." Jake smiles like a little boy who just got a new bike.

"You are being serious?" I ask him still not fully believing it. This was a huge deal. The Beta was second in command, someone the Alpha fully trusted, someone he cared deeply about, and someone he thought was strong enough to handle it. This possibly could have been the sweetest compliment anyone ever gave me; it was a close second to the wedding proclamation Jake gave me. I can't help but smile to him, hugely, like an idiot.

Sam laughs. "After tonight Melaine, I hope you are more careful with your decisions. If you took on this role, you are responsible for more lives than your own, you are thinking about more people than yourself. You obviously know what the Beta is for the Alpha or it wouldn't have struck such an emotional reaction. When Jake named you, I couldn't think of anyone else who'd be more perfect for the role of Jake's Beta. I can only hope you live up to those expectations, I have faith you will." Sam says.

Jake clears his throat and I give him my attention again. "So…" he says, "will you be my Beta?"

I smile to him and nod, "of course," I say and I feel my eyes beginning to burn with tears of joy. Jake stands up and comes over to me. He pulls me to my feet and his lips meet mine and in this moment, everything is good in the world.

A/N: Hey! I wanted to give you a break from the huge cliffhangers. You guys seemed kind of exhausted of them at the moment. Yes? No? Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed! You all have been lovely! -Courtney


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18:

I'm walking out of the door on my way to the car to go to Port Angeles when Jake walks up and smiles to me. I sigh and smile back to him. Good thing I planned to go early. I didn't have much time, but I had to get him out of here.

He walks up to me casually and takes me in his arms. His lips immediately meet mine and I melt into his kiss. He pulls away.

"So I was thinking we could go to the beach." Jake whispers to me with a smile, his hand runs up and down my arm.

"I can't, I'm going to Port Angeles." I tell him. Not a lie.

"Oh okay. I can go with you." He says. I knew he would say that.

"No," I say and he looks to me questioningly, "I'm just going shopping, it will be boring." Lie.

"I don't mind." Jake says with a smile.

"I do. I need you to hang out with Embry. He's been having a rough couple of days. He needs to hang out with the guys for a bit. Plus, you really need to talk to him, he has a lot to tell you." I tell him.

"Are you sure?" Jake asks.

No. I nod and smile. "I'll be back soon. I might even crash the party on my way back." His thumb rubs my cheek gently. "You haven't spent very much time with them. I want and need you to do that. Please. There's nothing for you to protect me from." Another lie. I want so desperately to tell him and to take him with me.

"Okay," Jake smiles. He leans down and kisses me. "Before you go, I have something for you." He begins digging into his pocket. He pulls out something and a necklace dangles in front of me. I notice the necklace has a small dream catcher pendant on it. I look up to him and smile. "You used to have the worst nightmares. Your dad told me that you were having some bad dreams lately and well I got you this to protect you from them."

I smile to him and start to laugh. "Do you remember when you tried to make one all those years ago and you messed up so badly? It was your first time making it. The thread was all tangled up. People joked that it would bring nightmares to everyone instead of vice versa."

"Of course I remember; it was the first and last time I failed at anything." He smiles cockily. "It impressed everyone thank you very much."

I laugh again and I wrap my arms around his neck. "Man, I love you." I whisper to him. His eyes go wide and then this huge, goofy smile comes across his face because I'd never told him that before.

He leans closer and one of his hands begins playing with my hair. "You do huh?" He smiles.

I nod. "I have always loved you Jake. I don't know why I've never been able to tell you that before but I couldn't."

"What has changed?" Jake says.

"I don't think you are going to hurt me anymore. I'm not scared of that anymore. Not right now. I mean how many other guys buy their… I don't even know what we are, but you are so thoughtful, and the necklace is beautiful, and I love you." I say and he finally takes my lips to his and he gives me a passionate kiss but it ends all too soon.

"I want you to be my girlfriend, Melaine, if you can handle me as your boyfriend." Jake smiles.

"If I can handle you?" I smile and pull his lips to mine and continue where we left off in our last kiss. This time I pull away. "I have to go." I moan close to his lips. "Will you put the necklace on me?"

He nods and I turn around. He lifts my hair and fastens the necklace. He kisses my neck where he just fastened the necklace around my neck. I smile and when he pulls away I turn to him.

I lift up the necklace so he can see the dream catcher. He smiles. I press the dream catcher to my chest. "Close to my heart, always." I whisper to him.

"Always." He says and his hand touches his heart. I lean into him and kiss him on the lips. He pulls away. "I love you." He whispers.

"I love you." I smile to him and walk to my car completely happy. Right now as I'm walking to the car, I don't have any problems. Right now, I am loved by a close to flawless man. Right now I am still giddy from his kisses. Right now, Blake doesn't exist and everything in the world is good.

I arrive in Port Angeles on time and I wait for him to find me. Where I am right now, he wouldn't touch me; there are so many witnesses that he would never show his true colors. Inside the dress shop, a group of bridesmaids giggle and laugh over a bottle of champagne. Across the street, an older couple holds hands while the man points out things in the shop windows and whispers into the woman's ear. She giggles and leans into him.

Blake comes from nowhere and grabs my wrist. He throws me on my back and he runs me somewhere. It doesn't take long, before I am thinking straight he places me down. He looks me over.

"Blake… I can't do this. Please, just leave town." I say to him and look around and try to get a sense of where we are. His hands grab my upper arms again he pulls me close to him.

"You feel this don't you?" He says and he stares at me with those passionate eyes.

"You are hurting me Blake…" I whisper. "Please stop. Leave."

"You are mine." He declares and he takes my lips I try to push him away but he is too strong. He breaks away with a smirk. His eyes are softer and I feel as if they are taking me somewhere else, away from the summer heat, and into the winter chill.

"Please…" I beg again but he holds my gaze and I forget what it is I'm begging for.

Blake smiles a perfect, breath-taking smile. "I love you Laney, you are mine." He says with a smile as he takes my hand and raises it up.

I don't know what he's doing but it is thrilling me. Every motion he does excites me. Every touch seduces me. I want him. I want to please him. I want him to want me.

Then, something hot close to my chest pulls me out of the cold as he leans down and kisses my wrist. I'm knocked out of the trance in an instant and forgotten images of everything important rushes back. I try to jerk my wrist away but it's too late, he's too close.

He smiles and then his teeth sink into my arm and I scream.

**A/N: Another cliffhanger. (: I couldn't resist. I hope you enjoyed. Let me know your thoughts. Have a lovely day! -Courtney**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19:

Tears are rushing to my face. I scream again, in case he didn't hear the first time, in case it would stop him. He doesn't even flinch at my cries and screams. Why would he? He is used to killing; he is used to the screams and the tears. It probably thrills him, makes the blood taste even sweeter. It's my fault. I let him get too close; I let myself believe that I was safe with him and that all he wanted was a friend. I let myself believe that it was okay to feel the way I did about him, that it was perfectly normal for him to have that effect on me.

I look into his eyes and go into the cold, I forget about the heat, I forget about Jake. There isn't a sun anymore, only the moon and stars. There isn't the pack anymore, only Blake standing by me with my wrist to his mouth, capturing my attention, making me forget everything that I ever thought meant anything to me. He is all I need, he is all I am.

I don't feel the burn of venom which is a good sign; he doesn't plan on turning me right now. If he placed venom in my system, I would have felt the burn by now. But no burning, no heat, just coldness and Blake.

You know that feeling you get in winter when you first step out into the cold air and you kind of lose your breath because it's so cold and you aren't used to it and the cold has sucked everything out of you, all of your warmth? That's how this feels. I can't breathe; the cold has sucked everything from me.

I'm getting weak, really weak. He's not stopping. Why isn't he stopping?

He looks up to me as he continues to drink, his eyes locking with my tear-filled face. "Please…" I beg him to stop.

As if he was listening to me he stops, but I'm horribly weak. He pushes me to the ground and I fall into the grass. A rock goes into my side and I yelp out. I try to crawl away. He grabs me though. I scream and try to fight, he straddles my struggling form. He smiles to me.

He lifts up his wrist and he rips away some of his arm. I look to him, frightened and disturbed. He shoves the injured arm in my face.

"Drink," he says musically and I shake my head, "it will give you your strength back. You can't be strong enough without it." I shake my head again. The wound touches my lips and it tastes of chocolate, sweet, perfect chocolate. "Drink my dear." He whispers hypnotically.

I swallow some of the blood and I find myself licking the wound and taking in more of the blood. It's like the taste has consumed me, he has consumed me. I continue to drink his blood as he makes pleasured sounds and encouraging words. It continues and I let it because I don't have a care in the world anymore. I continue to suck his blood and let his blood fill me.

"My blood replenishes by the second, we could do this all day Laney." He smiles to me as I continue drinking the addicting drink like a baby to its mother's milk. He leans down and takes my wounded arm and he begins draining me again.

Again, I'm in a trance. I'm going to the cold as his cold blood fills me. All I can focus on is the sweet taste and the pleasure that has started from him draining me, the way he sucks my blood is seductive.

The hot object close to my heart pulls me back. I push his arm away from my mouth as he hisses. I kick him and I pull my arm from him. I weak, too weak but I try to run anyways.

He grabs me and pins me down. "You are mine. I will take whatever I want from you, whenever I want it." He says aggressively as he leans down and is about to kiss me. I yell and kick and throw my arms around trying to stop him.

"I don't love you! I love Jake! I'm not yours! Stop it Blake!" I yell and this only makes him angrier. He hits me and my head hits one of the rocks. I feel myself losing consciousness when all of a sudden Blake is thrown off of me and another, softer, gentler set of arms wraps around me.

"It's going to be okay," Alice's voice soothes. "You are okay. It's okay, everyone is here, and we are taking care of him. Just stay with me."

There is a lot of background noise but I can hear her voice perfectly. My eyes flutter open and closed. A russet wolf jumps into my vision and heads straight for something, focused. The only thing I can focus on right now is the soft warmth of the necklace Jake gave me a little bit ago.

Then, everything goes black.

**A/N: I know, this is horribly short but I wanted to end at the black out. But the new update is soon. I promise. I hope you enjoyed.**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20:

My eyes flicker open and I'm in a relatively plain room. It smells like a doctor's office, and flowers, lots and lots of flowers. I think of Blake. I wrinkle my nose and pray that I'm not with him.

"Why didn't he try to turn her?" Jake's voice asks demandingly.

I try to speak up but as soon as I try, I cringe in pain; my throat is so sore and dry. I try to move my right arm and it's sore too. I close my eyes and realize it's probably good for them not to know I'm awake, then they'll keep talking.

"Jake," Edward starts and seems like he doesn't know what to say.

"Can you just tell me?" Jake yells.

"Jake, please." Joy's voice says calmingly.

"She's not going to get better with you yelling Jake." Sam's voice chides in.

"We think that Blake had bigger plans for her," Jasper says, taking control of the situation. He did always know how to control the situation. I can feel he is radiating calmness throughout the room.

"Like what?" Jake asks more calmly, the calm spell Jasper cast working.

"We think that he wanted to make her his donor." Jasper says softly.

"Donor? Like blood donor?" Dad chimes in concerned.

"Yes," Alice answers in her musical voice which is less chipper than usual.

"A vampire can make a bond with a human," Jasper continues, "If a vampire drinks from someone and the human drinks from the vampire, the two form a bond. The human usually soon becomes everything the vampire wants. They do everything the vampire desires, and they forget everything that was once important to them, they forget everything but the vampire." Jasper says calmly, scarily calm actually.

"That sick, son of a bitch!" Jake yells.

"Calm down Jacob." Joy says.

"Carlisle will be back with more blood soon," Alice says, "We'll give you guys some time. Edward, Jasper." I hear the door open and close and then it's silent.

"Michael?" Joy asks, "Why are you so pale?"

"He wasn't supposed to find her," my dad says softly.

"What are you talking about Michael?" Joy asks with more worry in her voice.

"Joy, it's the monster I told you about. The monster that was after Maggie." My dad says in an eerie voice.

"Are you sure?" She asks breathlessly.

"I would bet my life on it. When I found him years ago he threatened Melly, I never thought, not for a second, that he would have a chance to get close to her." My dad's voice cracks and I can't take being quiet anymore. My dad's about to cry, he never cries even after my mother's death, his tears were limited. He's always been the one to be strong.

"Wait… he was at the diner one night recently, Melly was leaving the diner when he came in. I thought he didn't notice her. I should have known…" Joy says sadly.

"He went to the diner?" My dad asks and I hear anger and frustration in his voice.

"He came to see me," Joy says, "he tried to scare me, but it didn't work he was gone soon after."

"Why didn't you tell me Joy?" My dad asks enraged and I can hear his voice shaking.

"You would have went after him, almost killing yourself again. I handled it." Joy says and I can tell she is trying to be strong.

"Obviously not! Look at her! It wasn't handled!" My dad yells.

"Stop it!" I croak out in my sore throat.

Everyone runs to my side. "Stop fighting." I say weakly and cough. "It's my fault, it's all my fault."

"Sweetheart…" Joy tries to soothe me.

"I'll tell you guys everything, I promise, just stop fighting." I say and look to my dad and then Joy. Then I move my gaze to Jake, he has this unbelievable intense look in his warm brown eyes and it leaves me breathless. He didn't deserve this, he was probably so worried yesterday, or whenever the attack was, I have no idea how long I've been out.

The door opens and Dr. Cullen walks into the room. "Oh I apologize if I'm interrupting I just got some more blood for you."

"How bad is it Doctor?" I ask him ignoring the first problem.

"Not so bad now. You almost have all of your blood replenished. It's also a very good sign that you are awake. Do you need anything?" Dr. Cullen says.

"Water would be nice, my throat is sore." I say politely. Dr. Cullen nods and walks to a water pitcher on the counter and pours me a glass of iced water. He walks it over to me.

"As for the wound on your arm, I've stitched it up, but you will probably always have a scar. I'll take out the stitches in a couple of days, you heal quickly so it shouldn't be long." Dr. Cullen informs. I nod and take a sip. "Whenever you feel like talking about it, if you don't mind, I'm interested in hearing what happened. I want to apologize, We are usually on top of visitors of our kind, we usually have information about them and I sincerely apologize we didn't take notice of him."

I shake my head. "Can everyone just not apologize? It's my fault what happened, and it's my responsibility. But I want to tell you guys what happened. I think I'm ready." I say and take another sip, the second sip does more than the first, the ice cold water soothes all the way down my sore throat. I move in bed and I wince at the pain throughout my whole body.

"I'm afraid you have some bruises throughout your body, he must have thrown you around a bit." Dr. Cullen says. I notice Jake tense up even more, I wish I could just kiss him and take away everything.

"I think it would be best if Sam was in here, that way, everyone who needs to know knows." My dad says and I nod.

My dad leaves and grabs Sam. In a second, they are back.

"Okay Melly," Joy says cautiously, "whenever you are ready. But if at any time it is too much just stop. It will be fine." Her face is full of worry. I wish my dad would touch her so that she is comforted but he still seems to be upset with her. I look to the glass my hands are securely holding in my lap. I can't look at them when I start. They will be so disappointed, especially Jake, he'll never think of me as his Beta again.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21:

"It all started the night I saw him in the diner, he caught my eye, and there was some kind of connection that I couldn't put my finger on. We didn't speak that night but I wanted to." I look down ashamed of my feelings towards him practically the entire time.

"He found me at Charlie and Sue's wedding and we talked. In short, he mesmerized me. I would like to say that it was the hurt that pushed me to him, and that it was the fact that Jake and I weren't together that made me feel the way I did with him that night, but I don't think it was. There was a connection between us, as if he understood me without me having to say anything. I didn't listen to my wolf instincts that night, I didn't push him away when he asked for us to be friends, and I didn't push him away when he kissed me. I felt things I shouldn't have felt with him, but I did feel them. He thrilled me that night and every other time we met after that. I knew he was the vampire you were hunting. I wasn't sure about him, I didn't want to give up someone who cared about me and understood me. I should have told all of you, especially you Jake." I say and look to him apologetically; Jake looks down almost instantly when our eyes meet.

"He met me on patrol the night of the Cullen meeting. That's why I wasn't morphed, I couldn't have everyone in my head and I wanted to try to figure things out with him on my own, I needed to know if there was anything with us. That's where things got wrong, I mean I'm sure you guys think it was all wrong, but everything was innocent at the wedding, innocent and breathtaking. He got angry about a hickey Jake left on my neck. He never said he was but every time his eyes caught a glimpse at it, they turned dark, and evil and I glimpsed at the monster residing in the beauty. At the end was the worst, he claimed me as his and he said he didn't care if Jake was interested in me, that I was still his. Everything was messed up by then, he told me to meet him in Port Angeles or he would find me. I couldn't have him come and find me, war would start. Sam, you've never been rational when it came to vampires close to the tribe, you would have attacked and asked questions later, I decided not to take the slim chance that war and havoc would erupt from my naivety." I look to Sam, I can't really read his expression but he seems understanding. I look to Jake now, his eyes don't move away this time. They are full of sadness, I'm sure he hates me. I need to force myself to continue to look at him.

"So I lied to you Jake, I wasn't going to Port Angeles to shop, I went to meet him. I couldn't risk you getting hurt if you came with me. It was one thing for me to pay for my mistakes and a completely other thing to let you hurt because of me." I look away from him now, ashamed again. I look to the glass in my hand and I gently move my hand so the water moves slightly.

"He grabbed me out of nowhere and took me into the woods. I asked him to leave town. I begged him to leave, to let me go and to leave. He wouldn't listen though. He knew what he wanted; he knew how weak I was. He claimed me as his again and again. He kissed me, and I didn't enjoy it but when I looked at his eyes, I slowly started forgetting everything important. I drifted away from heat and into the cold. It was too late before I gained my focus back, he was too close, and he already had his lips against my wrist." I look down to my wrapped up wrist as if in a trance. "It hurt so bad. I screamed and cried but he didn't seem to care, I think he enjoyed it more with the screams. But the pain went away when his eyes met mine again and I forgot about everything again. I let him bite me, I let him drain me, I just forgot about everything." I wince in disgust at the memory.

"I couldn't breathe, and I could feel myself getting weaker by the second. I begged one more time and he actually stopped, I couldn't believe it. But I didn't know what he had planned for me. He ripped part of his arm away with a bite and pressed it to my lips, the second I tasted the blood, I was hooked. I was addicted to it, I couldn't stop and I wouldn't stop. Everything and I mean everything faded away except for him. I wanted to do whatever he wanted, I wanted to be whatever he wanted and I wanted to please him." I shiver in disgust again at the memory. Joy's warm hand rests on mine encouragingly.

"But then something pulled me back. Something someone I love gave me moments before." I touch the necklace which draped over my hospital dress. "It was the warmth I needed to pull me out of the cold. I tried fighting him, I tried telling him I wasn't his, but he wouldn't hear it. I don't know what would have happened if no one would have shown up. Then Alice came from nowhere, totally unexpectedly and she held me. I blacked out shortly after. I don't know what happened while I was in her arms but I'm thankful for whatever it is any one of you did, I didn't deserve help. I lost the trust from so many of you, I lied, and I was stupid and I let him manipulate me into being his…" I struggle with the word, "_donor_." The word burns all the way up my throat.

"I'm so sorry everyone for all of the trouble I've caused. I can't imagine what I've done to all of you. I wish I could take it all back." I finally have the guts to look up at them again. "I owe all of you so much."

"Oh sweetheart…" Joy is the first to speak and her arms wrap around me in a supporting manner. She kisses my cheek softly and gently.

"Melaine, if you would allow me to explain something," Dr. Carlisle says and Joy stands back up beside the bed. I nod to him. "Vampires are very manipulative; it's how we are made up. It's a survival mechanism, much like your wolf size or running speed. We are manipulative to lure in our prey, it makes us who we are. As for you being under false beliefs and being mesmerized as you said, you are not at fault and Blake has always been an award winning manipulator and seducer, I used to be familiar with him in Italy."

My dad walks over to me and he cups my face in between his palms, he kisses my forehead. "I'm so glad you are safe." He says. I smile to him softly.

"I'm so sorry Dad, you must have been worried sick." I tell him.

He nods and smiles. "It's all over now," Dad says and looks to Jake. "Thanks to that guy over there, Blake was killed, and thanks to everyone else who shredded the remains and burned him. You never have to worry about that anymore." I smile softly and nod.

Dr. Carlisle walks over and changes the blood container hooked to my IV with another fuller one. "I'm going to give you some space. If you need anything, let me know." Dr. Carlisle smiles.

"Wait, I have some questions," my dad says and walks after Dr. Carlisle.

Joy looks down to me, "I better make sure your father doesn't kill him with questions." She smiles and I nod.

Then she rushes after my dad and loops her arms with his as they leave the room I hear my dad say, "I want to thank you so much for taking care of my little girl."

Sam walks over to me calmly as if he didn't want to excite me. "I will tell the others the important details of the events. I want you to know that I forgive you for lying to me, I think we all have weaknesses and problems always erupt from them. Your reasons for not telling me were valid and I respect your decision." Sam looks to Jake and I follow his gaze. Jake is messing with his hands. "However, I'm sure I'm not the one you care the most about approval wise, so I'll let you two be. I'll tell everyone not to interrupt." Sam nods to Jake then looks back to me. His hand rests on mine. "You are a good person Melly, don't ever doubt that." He smiles and then he leaves.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22:

"Jake…I…I…" I struggle for words, Jake shakes his head. "Oh god, you hate me don't you?" My eyes begin to burn as I think about losing him. "I'm so sorry. I know I should have told you. I just was so confused and in the end I didn't want you to get hurt. I'm so very very sorry. Please… say something." I beg as I can feel the tears on the edge of my eyes about to travel down my face. I can feel my heart stop in my chest as if it's preparing to shatter right there on the spot.

"First of all, I could never hate you Melaine, so stop worrying about that." Jake says. "We can talk about all the gory details later, you need to rest, the less sleep, the more stress, you won't heal quickly enough. I need you to heal; I need you to be okay. So we can talk about this later okay?" He says coolly.

"I can handle it Jake. I want to solve this, please. If you are going to leave me I'd rather you do it now so I can work on all of my healing at the same time." I tell him, my voice doesn't sound as strong as I wanted it to. I could feel myself, every second he doesn't tell me for sure that he's not leaving I feel myself slowly moving closer and closer to the edge. I'm on the brink of shattering into a million pieces, why couldn't he see that? Why couldn't he just put me out of my misery?

Jake walks over to me and he forces a small smile on his face. "I love you," Jake says softly and sadly. He leans down and kisses me gently on my forehead. It feels like goodbye, it feels like he's saying goodbye. A soft cry escapes my lip before I can catch it. "I'll see you soon. Rest Melaine." He turns away.

"Jake!" I yell but he doesn't turn back. I try to get up but I'm not strong enough, my arms and legs don't respond. He opens the door. "Please! Jake!" I beg him. He walks out. "Jake…" I say softly. Leah and Embry rush into the room after he's gone.

"We heard you yelling, are you okay?" Leah asks. I nod but I don't think I'm convincing as the tears finally fall over the edge of my eyes and dance down my cheeks, slowly and tragically. Embry doesn't say anything. He walks over to me quickly and slides onto the bed, he takes me in his arms. I turn my head to lean up against his chest. Leah walks over to my bedside and takes my hand; she runs her fingers through my hair to soothe me.

"I'm so sorry." I whisper as I feel myself falling asleep. The tears continue to run down my face on their own. I can't stop them and I can't control them.

"Sh… It's okay Melly, you're okay, everything is fine, and we're here." Embry whispers as his hand rubs my back. I roll over to my side and lean into him. I don't let go of Leah's hand, I squeeze it tighter, and she gives me a small, weak smile.

"I'm so sorry." I whisper again and again until I fall asleep in Embry's arms.

It took me a week to be strong enough for Dr. Cullen to be happy enough with my strength. I'm still not allowed to change into wolf form until after a checkup in a week. I was in my room reading a book I picked up as my dad came in. He smiles to me slightly.

"We have to talk Dad." I tell him.

He nods. "I didn't think I could avoid this for much longer." He says.

"The day I woke up, you said Blake was… he was responsible for Mom's accident. I need to know everything Dad. You can't protect me anymore. I deserve to know the truth." I told him and he nods.

"Your mom knew him before we met. They had a thing. She left him when we started dating. Your mom was the most wonderful person I've ever known. We got serious and he began to miss her. He started threatening her for them to get back together. She was so scared and she told me about it. I went after him, even after she begged me not to. I should have shredded him but I couldn't bring myself to kill him at that point. We got married and he continued to randomly pop up. But he never hurt her and he always left. The night she died, we were at the market when he showed up in front of everyone. I almost killed him right there, but your mother wouldn't let me. She begged me to take you home and she would be there soon. Your mother was in a car accident, I didn't lie about that. I stuck around to make sure he left, we all thought he had. Joy ran over and continuously rang the doorbell until I answered. She was crying and shaking and she dragged me to the scene. Your mother's window was shattered, and the car had hit a tree close to the side of the road. When we got her out of the car, she was pale white, and almost completely drained of blood, there was a bite mark on the side of her neck. There was no question who was responsible. I ran off to find him; I was going to kill him this time. Joy had begged me not to leave but I couldn't control the anger. When I found him he was stronger than I expected, after feeding a vampire is always strongest. He beat me and he threatened you. I almost killed him but he ran off before I could. I spent days trying to track him but he vanished. I gave up on finding him, I just had to protect you. I remember you running into my arms and crying for days when I got home, you'd thought you had lost me too. I couldn't tell you that a monster killed your mother, so I lied." My dad said, even now, after all this time his eyes seemed to tear up at the memories. "I loved your mother so much, I still do."

"But you also love Joy?" I ask him simply. "And she loves you."

He smiles to me and moves hair from my face. "How could you possibly know that?"

"I'm very observant. Make your move Dad, she can't wait for you forever, waiting is hard. I don't blame you for not telling me. I wish you could have told me when I got older, but I understand why you couldn't. I love you Daddy." I say to him and I hug him tightly. I pull back after a while and he smiles to me. "I need to go and take care of something. Is that okay?"

He smiles. "You've never really asked for permission before. Jake's probably home at this hour. I'd start there if I were you." Dad winks to me.

I smile and hug him again. "I need to get ready. I don't know how long it will take. Don't wait up okay?"

He nods and smiles. "I'm inviting Joy over for dinner. I'll see you when you get home. I love you Melaine, no matter what."

"I love you too." I say to him as he leaves.

I rush through getting ready and I rush to my car. I needed to settle this thing with Jake. I needed to know that it was over for good, and if we actually had a chance maybe this dull ache in my chest would go away. I had answers from my father now I needed answers from Jake. I can't move on without knowing and as I pull into the gravel drive of his house and I see the light on in his garage, my breath grows shallow and it feels like my heart is in my stomach. I groan and pull myself together. I suck it up and slam the car door. I walk towards the light and towards the answers I need with every step.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23:

I focus on the garage and I see a figure in a wheelchair coming towards me. He doesn't say anything until he is close to me. "Hi Melly," he smiles to me.

"Hi Billy, is Jake home?" I ask him, I try my hardest not to look at the garage with the dim light.

Billy looks to the garage. "In the garage," he points. "Your father knows you are out doesn't he?" Billy asks concerned. I nod. "Nobody wants you to get worked up Mel, it could be bad for your condition, so if that's what's going to happen you should leave. You and Jake can talk anytime." Billy warns me.

I shake my head. "This needs to happen now. I know my limits. Thanks for trying to take care of me Billy. I need to do this though." I give him a small smile.

"Okay, well he's in there. I'll be in the house." Billy says and he starts rolling passed me. "Goodnight Melly."

"Goodnight," I say softly. I wait for him to be on the deck before I quickly walk to the garage. I stand outside the garage for a moment to calm myself, I have to be strong, no matter what, I will not let him see me broken. I open the door softly and calmly, Jake doesn't hear me, he has one of the power tools running while he is under the Rabbit. I decide that I'm not going to interrupt him so I sit on the work bench and pull my knees to my chest, I wrap my arms around them and rest my chin on my knees.

It's not long before Jake slides out from under the car. When he sees me his face washes over with shock and nervousness perhaps. Why would he be nervous? He's not the one about to be dumped.

"Hi," I force a smile on my face.

"Hey," Jake says and rubs his hands with a rag. He looks down at his hands and then tosses the rag onto the counter.

"I haven't seen you in a while." I tell him.

He nods. "I've been busy," he says simply, "Dad kept me updated on you and Sam stopped by yesterday to tell me you were on your way home. I was going to go see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, I bet." I say to him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jake asks defensively.

I bring my knees down and hop off of the bench. "You left. I needed you, I yelled for you and you just walked out like I was nothing, like I meant nothing to you. Now you are giving me bullshit about being too busy for a whole week and not even being able to come break up with me the day that I'm strong enough to leave. That's what that means." I say to him as I cross my arms across my chest. I bite my bottom lip hoping that I didn't let myself say something I'll regret when I'm on my way home.

"You want me to break up with you?" Jake asks, and I see anger and sadness in his eyes.

Somehow when he says it, the words sound worse. I force myself not to start to tear up.

"Of course I don't want you to." I say. "But you are going to aren't you? You left because you didn't think I was strong enough to handle it that day. I'd rather you come and see how I was doing for your own, if you cared at all. I yelled for you. I needed you to say it, but you didn't so now I'm partially broken just waiting for the words. I can't handle the waiting anymore Jake. I can't take your bullshit excuses anymore. Say what you want, end it if you want; the choice has always been up to you." I say and I'm proud of how little my voice broke throughout all of that.

"I trusted you, that whole time I believed everything you told me. Even though my gut was saying you were in trouble, I kept telling myself that I should trust you. I could have protected you, but instead you risked everything for _that_ perverted _leech_." He says bitterly.

"I didn't want you to have to protect me!" I yell finally cracking my coldness. "I didn't want to be a burden. I didn't want you to have to take care of me. I could never live with myself if you had gotten hurt for my stupidity. That's what it was Jake, _stupidity_. I was stupid to think that I had something with Blake. I was stupid to risk what I had with you. I just was confused and I know that you can't understand that. I wasn't sure of us when I was with Blake, not until the last time was I sure of us. I'm sorry I lied but I can't go back and change any of it. I wish I could, I wish you didn't get hurt because I didn't want any of this to happen, I didn't expect any of this to happen." I feel the tears about to fall. "I'm so s-sorry." My voice breaks.

Jake's hands run down his face. Then he looks at me and his brown eyes aren't as warm as they usually are. "I know you didn't expect this. But I told you I loved you. How could you still have doubts? I just don't know if I can trust you." He says and I study his face, he looks exhausted, I'm sure he doesn't feel a shred of what I feel though, if he did, he would never think about doing this. I can't help myself from repeating a word he said to me over and over.

"You said loved." I whisper. "You said_ loved_." I say louder this time.

Jake nods. "I know." He says softly. "I can't love someone that I don't trust."

Those words, that realization is what broke me. I could continue to tell myself that he just needed space and he still loved me and that would help, but now, I can't do that. He doesn't love me. He probably never did. Worst of all, he can't trust me; I've lost the man I love and my best friend all in one conversation. I can't stop the tears from sliding down my cheeks again. I don't move my eyes from him, he needs to see what he's done to me, how he's broken me. Why couldn't he just tell me when I was already broken? Now I'm broken all over again, and this is far worse than just being drained of blood, Dr. Cullen could fix that, he can't fix this.

Jake moves towards me. I shake my head and hold up my hand. "Don't." I whisper and he freezes. I reach to the clasp of the necklace behind my neck.

"You don't have to," Jake says and I shake my head. It takes me a while to unclasp the necklace because my hands are shaking.

"Do you want to know what I really felt that night in Port Angeles?" I tell him when I finally get the necklace unclasped. I hold it in my closed fist, the warmth of the dream catcher still gets to me. "The feelings I couldn't say in front of everyone. Before I left, I felt safe in your arms, I never wanted to leave but I had to. I could have stayed in that moment we shared forever." Two tears trickle down my face. "When Blake found me I tried fighting him off I really did, but something got a hold of me and pulled me into coldness. I forgot about you Jake, that was the worst part. In that world that he dragged me to, I was miserable, I was broken, and I was dull. Yes, I didn't have my family and friends, but I know that you, you were the one that if I hadn't have forgotten you, I wouldn't have been so miserable or broken. That world was grey and cold because it didn't have you in it, my heat, my sun, my color." My voice breaks slightly but I force myself to continue before he interrupted me. "Do you want to know what brought me out of that world? _This_." I say and show him the necklace. "This stupid symbol of your feigned love. It brought me out and I'll always be grateful for it, but I will never, _ever_ be able to look at it again. So _here_. Give it to Bella or some other girl who will be the love of your life." I throw it on the ground like a real mature seventeen year old. "I might have lied to you Jake, about Blake, but I never, _ever _lied about loving you." I say and I run off, once again like a mature seventeen year old. I run to a tree and hide behind the side that doesn't face the garage. I feel weak and nauseous. I catch my breath and try to calm myself down.

"Melaine!" I hear Jake call after me. I move from the tree and start to rush to my car. I couldn't face him right now. I'd definitely shatter. I regret leaving the tree when I feel so dizzy I know I could faint. I continue to rush to my car, right as I'm about to reach my car everything goes dizzy and I start to fall.

"Melly!" Embry's voice calls and his arms wrap around me and catch me before I hit the ground.

I look up to him and slightly smile through tear filled eyes. "Always saving me." I whisper and he smiles slightly to me.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24:

Embry wipes my tears from my cheek with his thumb.

"It's over." I whisper to him.

He nods. "Sh, you don't have to talk about that." He soothes. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," I sit up as I feel stronger. "How'd you know where to find me?"

"Jasper and Alice had a bad feeling about you tonight. They also needed to talk to you. I went to your house to find you, your dad and Joy told me where to find you." He says to me and I begin to stand up. He seems worried about me standing but he lets me. I look towards the garage and see Jake watching us. I look down to Embry.

"Are we supposed to meet them then? I ask him as I give him my hand to help him up. He takes it and nods.

"In the woods. Edward, your dad, Joy, Leah and Sam plan on joining in on the meeting." Embry says and looks to Jake. "Get in the car Melly." He says calmly.

"Embry, please." I say.

"I'll be back in a minute, start the car up." He says.

I grab him before he walks away. "He's your friend too. What happened between us doesn't have anything to do with you two." I say and surprisingly he seems to calm down, he nods, then smiles a little.

"I'll be back." He says and he walks over to Jake.

Everyone sat in a circle while we waited for Sam to get there. Alice sat on one side and Embry on the other. She gave me a simple smile. I should have given Alice more of a chance when I first had met her, since I had stayed with the Cullens for a week, Jasper and she had become close friends.

Sam arrives shortly after and Dr. Cullen (Carlisle as he wishes for me to call him) has joins too.

"So what's the deal now?" I ask and look at everyone.

"The Volturi want a testimony from you, Melly. Blake was a huge deal in our world. He's been a lot of trouble for the Volturi, but still hardly anyone likes one of ours killed by shifters. The Volturi want your testimony to prove that there doesn't need to be retaliation to our people." Alice informs me.

"I'll go." I say.

"Wait, we need to hear the risks," Joy says and Dad nods his head.

"Well the Volturi are the most powerful and skilled vampires, but Alice, Edward and I will be going with her. As well as protecting her we can be very convincing to the Volturi." Jasper says to everyone. "We will take care of her, and if anything wrong happens then we will let Carlisle know and he will immediately tell you. I believe that there isn't a risk, but we are being cautious."

"May I ask how convincing you can be?" My dad asks.

"The Volturi are interested in us as recruits." Edward says. "They won't harm us or do anything to turn us away from being with them."

My dad nods. "How soon does she need to leave if she chooses to go?"

"As soon as possible, there's a plane in an hour." Alice chirps. She looks to me with a smile. Embry takes my hand in his. I look to him and smile.

"I want to go, I need to go." I tell everyone.

"You don't have to go." Sam says. "We can handle things."

"Everyone would be in danger. It's much simpler if I just go and get this over with. I'll be back in a couple of days." I tell everyone. "Can Alice come with me and help me pack?" I ask.

Sam nods and I smile to him.

Alice turns to Jasper. "You know where my bag is." Jasper nods, Alice smiles and kisses him softly on the lips.

"We'll meet you at Melaine's house if that's okay with Sam." Jasper says. Sam nods. "We better get going, Edward, you'll have to say goodbye to Bella and Nessie." Edward nods and he and Jasper leave.

Everyone stands up. Carlisle walks over to me and he shakes my hand. "Be careful Melaine." He smiles to me. "I'll see you when you get back." I smile to him and nod.

"We should get you home and packed." Joy smiles.

"Mel, we're heading to the beach." Embry smiles and looks to Leah. He comes up and hugs me. "Be safe." He whispers in my ear with a kiss to the cheek. Leah comes up and hugs me next.

"I'll be fine." I reassure everyone.

Sam walks up to me. "Don't let me regret my decision to trust you." He tells me and Alice. We both nod and Alice loops her arm through mine. "We'll be waiting for you to come back." He smiles.

"Thanks, I'll see you soon." I tell Sam. He nods and then morphs into his wolf form and runs into the woods.

"Just us now," Dad smiles as his arm loops around Joy's waist. I smile to them.

"Let's go home." I say as Alice and I begin walking to my house.

As we sit on the plane my nerves are on edge. There's no one else on the plane, everyone must be waiting for the next flight. My I nervously crack my fingers. I've never met the Volturi, the pack has with the Cullens but I never did. Alice had helped me rush to get my things ready; after all, Alice knew better what clothing was appropriate in Italy and in front of the Volturi. I was currently dressed in a silky tank top, chocolate leather jacket, jeans and a pair of black Converse. Alice insisted I needed to look stylish but be able to run and fight if it was needed. Carlisle packed me some medicine if I began feeling weak, but I pretty much feel healed after my episode earlier.

The good thing about this trip is that I can think of something other than Jake.

I turn to Alice. "So the Volturi don't plan on meeting Nessie any time soon?" I ask remembering the risk a few weeks ago, which seems like ages ago.

"No," Alice smiles, "luckily, they think that she should grow up with her parents, they'll look into her recruitment when she is older."

"That's good." I smile. "It's no secret I'm not a fan of Bella's but I would never want anything to happen to that girl or Edward." Alice smiles at this.

She leans over. "You need to rest. When we get there I'll wake you."

I nod and lean back in the seat. I close my eyes and quickly drift to sleep, I didn't realize how exhausted I was until I close my eyes.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25:

As soon as we drive into Volterra (in a car that Jasper stole with the help of Edward distracting the owner), I notice the huge, marvelous fairy tale castle in the center of the city. It can be seen from every aspect. I'd heard a history of the Volturi from Jake when he was obsessing over Bella. At the thought of Jake my heart sinks a little but before I spiral into a miserable sob I push him out of my thoughts and focus on the castle. The sun is setting but Alice, Jasper and Edward can't be seen in the sun so we have to use the daylight entrance to the castle. The streets are about empty except for the marketplace down one of the many roads from the center of town. When we get to the door it swings open and a tiny but flawless girl stands in the dark passageway with a tall, lean flawless man. The man has black hair and he stares at me.

"We've been expecting you." The girl says and glares at Edward, Alice and Jasper. "It is not good to make the Volturi wait."

"We came as soon as we could." Alice explains peacefully. "I'm glad to see Demetri's powers still work on sensing human presence." The male smiles to Alice and then focuses back on me.

"We should be going don't you think?" Edward says. "It would be rude to keep the Volturi waiting any longer for their guest. I'm sure they are eager to meet her." His voice is musical and sweet, I would do anything he told me to. A voice that pure couldn't possibly be evil.

Maybe something is wrong with me. Why can't I be disgusted by vampires like everyone else in the pack? It would make things so much easier. Is it because my mother once loved one, my dad didn't say those words but I knew by the way he avoided it.

"This is the girl?" The male speaks up and the three of them nod. "Jane you should begin leading them." He instructs she looks at him with something I can't quite figure out in her look.

"She is gross shifter Demetri, don't try anything." She warns and walks off.

"I'll walk with the girl in the back. You all follow Jane." The man who is apparently Demetri says to Alice, Edward and Jasper.

They look wary, especially Alice but they end up nodding and follow. Demetri loops my arm in his in a very formal way and begins leading me behind them. I'm petrified about pushing him away, surely he is stronger than me.

"I'm Demetri." He slightly smiles at me. The smile is flawless as if he's been practicing for centuries, like he's stared at the mirror until it looked perfect.

"Pleasure." I say slightly bitter, trying not to fall into old habits.

"Jane can be a little protective," Demetri whispers to me.

"That's cute." I say sarcastically as we continue to walk, he's walking slowly. Is he doing it on purpose? The further away from the Cullens I get the more nervous I get.

"Do you want to tell me your name?" He asks me teasingly.

"Not really." I tell him shortly. "Aren't you supposed to be the quiet, reserved one?" I ask him.

"Someone's done their homework. I only talk when there's a purpose, unlike some people who blabber on and on for no reason at all." He smiles to me. I know exactly what he's talking about with that, I think Bella does that when she's around the pack, she likes to hear herself talk as if she was trying to prove to everyone she had important things to say. "I thought you would have manners and wouldn't be rude Melaine." He smiles with a knowing smile.

"If you had already known my name why would you ask?" I ask him while I try to increase our pace. Being alone with cute vampires who are being cute with me makes me nervous. I don't have my necklace this time to save me.

"It's always nice for the person to introduce themselves." Demetri says sure of himself. "I didn't think humankind had fallen that far under the propriety scale." He stops suddenly and I almost scream when he pulls me close to him. Flashes of the night with Blake flash through my mind. I don't dare to show him that I fear him so I meet his burgundy eyes and don't pull away. "Or is it just the pups that are low on manners?"

"You all look at me with the same degrading look; I'm just some dog to you all." I say to him stepping away from him and pulling my arm away from him. I begin rushing to catch up to the others, there's a light now that's growing bigger and a familiar silhouette in the doorway.

"Melly!" I hear.

"Coming!" I call as I rush but something stops me and grips my wrist tightly. I come to a quick stop and look at Demetri. He holds one wrist in place while he lifts up my other and examines my scar, Carlisle said I'd probably never heal of it. My dad had a theory that the combination of Blake and me didn't mix well and are constantly battling, the wolf is trying to heal from it while the vampire is trying to stand strong.

"You are much more than that." He whispers to me. "You will soon find out." He says.

"Demetri…" Jasper warns him. Alice must have sent him when I didn't come. "Let go of her." Jasper is serious, I didn't think he cared that much for me but his glare is as intimidating as it would be if I were Rose or Esme or someone else he was close to (with the exception of Alice I think if I were Alice he would have ripped Demetri's head off). Demetri lets me go. I turn away from him and start walking to the door. Jasper catches up with me and I think he's using his power to try to soothe me. I look to him and smile and whisper a thank you as we walk into the beautiful castle.

The castle is as if it popped out of a dark, vampire fantasy movie or novel. Anything the unlived would want for eternity is in the castle. It has a dark, sensual, seductive appeal to it and I remember what I learned from Carlisle when I'd asked about them during recovery after seeing him in a picture with them, the Volturi have wives but that doesn't mean they are faithful for eternity. He said they are very much like the kings I've learned about throughout history. Everything I know about the Volturi is summed up in this place.

We are lead into what appears to be a throne room. Something tells me this is where people beg for their lives from the ones who hold it in their hands. Edward must have heard Demetri's thoughts from when we were in the passageway because he hasn't left my side since Jasper joined back with Alice and now he has taken my hand.

Three men walk into the room and sit in the thrones which are in a line. The center one is more elaborate and slightly bigger. The man who sits in the center chair has long black hair and almost translucent skin. Beside him are a blonde and another black haired man. The center one must be Aro, the other two Marcus and Caius. I believe Carlisle had said Caius was the blonde.

"Welcome!" Aro announces powerfully. Edward squeezes my hand reassuringly. Aro stands and walks over to me. "My dear, you poor thing. Of course you never asked for Blake to pick you. I'm sure you never asked for this." I don't know how to respond so I don't. He is trying too hard to be nice. "I hope our friends have spoken kindly of us. The last times we've had encounters it was not so pleasant." Aro looks to Alice, Jasper and Edward.

"Of course they spoke kindly of all of you." I force a smile onto my face. I know I need to help out the Cullens in whatever way I could. "I believe every one of your kind admire all of you."

"And of your kind? What of them?" Aro asks amused by me.

I smile sweetly to him. "My kind is hardly aware of who you all are. That must mean you do your job well. I've been told you've cleaned up quite a bit of messes and you've done it so securely."

"And of your kind who do know of us?" He asks enjoying every minute of this.

I think about the right thing to say this time carefully. This could go very badly or very well. Power is very important to them as well as pride. "Those who know of you fear you sir. We fear your power, we fear your strength. We envy the influence you hold over your people. We would never wish to anger the Volturi sir."

Aro moves close to me. Edward squeezes my hand tighter but I don't move my eye contact from Aro's milky red eyes.

"And you do you fear me?" He whispers excitedly obviously power hungry.

"Of course." I say back.

Aro chuckles a little and claps. "She is excellent. Do you not think so Marcus and Caius?" He turns to his fellow leaders.

"She is certainly flattering." Marcus says practically apathetically. "The Cullens wish to protect her. She has touched them all." He says.

"Caius?" Aro asks expectantly.

"She is a werewolf." Caius says almost as if the fact disgusts him. I don't think it is the correct time to correct him. Somehow even though I came here to give a testimony, I feel as if my life is in their hands.

"She is quite pleasant." Aro smiles to me. "I think she'd do quite well."

"That wasn't the plan." Edward interjects and squeezes my hand. "She only came for a testimony."

"A testimony we do not need." Aro says calmly. My body goes frigid. I came here for no reason at all; they don't even need a testimony.

"Please, Aro." Edward practically begs, I wonder what he is talking about, I wish they would stop having a secret conversation. It only makes me more nervous, I can feel Jasper calming me down again, he can't completely calm me however, I'm far too nervous.

Aro turns to Caius. "Do you think you could handle it? It will certainly be more convenient."

Caius thinks deeply. "As long as she is controlled, it would certainly be more convenient, I will however still prefer… better company on occasion."

"Of course." Aro nods. He turns back to me.

"Aro, stop, don't." Edward says. I hear a laugh from behind me and see Demetri eyeing me.

"Stop begging Edward," Aro says, "It didn't suit you before and it still doesn't." Aro focuses on me again without turning his focus. He walks toward me and takes my hand, I try to pull it away but he's strong, stronger than Blake and Demetri. He smiles and there's evil behind his smile. He continues to hold my hand. I look to Edward confused.

"When Aro touches someone he can read every thought they've ever had." Edward says. I try to pull away again but I fail.

Moments later Aro stops coming from my memories and let's go of my hand.

"Welcome to the Volturi, Melaine." Aro says.

**A/N: I haven't done one of these in what seems like forever. You all are so lovely. Thanks for the alerts, favorites and especially the reviews, feedback is always motivating. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I'm working on the next one so hopefully the update won't be long. Have a wonderful day or night depending on when you are reading this.**


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26:

A boy with long, dark wavy hair enters the room, his hair fell to just about his chin. He looked about seventeen or eighteen. His eyes were black, he'd want to drink soon. His skin was pale porcelain, not as translucent as Aro, Marcus and Caius. He was strong built but he was smaller than Emmett, he probably had the same build as Jasper. His eyes met mine; he gave me a small smile before they retreated. He didn't fit in here.

"I'll be with you in a moment Aidan." Aro says. The boy nods and leans against the wall casually.

I focus back on Aro. "What do you mean?" I ask him as everyone in the room focuses on me.

"You have already been made a donor," Aro says to me calmly, "there's no need to waste that."

"What are you saying?" I ask him and I look at him then to the Cullens. Alice has moved closer and Edward is still squeezing my hand.

"You are a donor for the rest of your life Melaine. Your blood replenishes faster than anything really." He says and sniffs the air. "I don't think your blood would taste bad, Blake after all did choose you," he looks me up and down in a way that a man sizes a girl up before they bring them to a closet to fuck their brains out, or how I would imagine the look, "let's face it, Blake always has had brilliant taste."

"This isn't why we came," Alice speaks up. She takes my arm. "We are leaving." She announces and starts leading me away.

"We are not finished!" Aro bellows. We freeze immediately. "If you guys are in a rush to leave, by all means leave Melaine here so I can discuss this with her." He smiles to me in a dirty manner, a manner that doesn't say he is married. "We'll take good care of her."

We turn back to face them and Aro tells us to come back closer.

"Our blood resources are getting more and more difficult to retrieve. We always go outside of the city to get our visitors. It's been taking longer and longer for the visitors to get here. It would nice to be able to…snack." He smiles evilly. My insides cringe but I don't let him see that. Why do I have this effect on vampires? Why can't they be disgusted by me like Caius seems to be.

"So what I would just be here for all of you to drain me of my blood. I would be nothing better than a cheap whore but instead of my body you all take my blood. What would I get in return? Why would I ever consider being the donor to the great Voluturi?" I ask him seriously.

Aro smiles. "You would be more than a cheap whore. You would be a source of life. What could you want more? But if that doesn't please you, could you imagine the peace between the shifters and vampires with you by my side and the side of the Volturi. It will do impeccable things for your kind my dear. You will be included in decisions about your kind. It will help your kind very much to have you take this offer. Not to mention, what else would you do darling, the boy you love denies you and wishes to have nothing to do with you? This is the best offer for you and your kind. Think of your dear friends, the ones in love. What were their names again? Leah and Embry?"

I look to Alice and Jasper who are now in each other's arms and I look over to Edward.

"I will be a part of all decisions?" I ask Aro.

"Of course." He smiles.

"And your wives, how will they see me? Surely they wouldn't be happy with the fact that there's a young girl which everyone is gaining blood from. And based on the way you are looking at me I can't say that your intentions are innocent. I do not plan on being a prostitute for you to pass around." I tell him blankly and to the point. "I would only be here as a blood donor and an advisor for my kind."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Aro smiles enjoying this too much.

"And if I don't accept your offer?" I ask Aro but I look to Marcus and Caius. Marcus seems bored by the whole thing and Caius looks bitter about something.

"Then there will be no one here to speak for your kind when needed and we'll find another donor. Not that you aren't unique darling but we all have needs." Aro smiles.

I bite my bottom lip unsure of how to deal with this. It would do amazing things for my pack and packs like mine around the world. I was made into this, Aro is right why should I waste it? Also what if Aro chooses an innocent soul to be the next donor? What if that ruins the innocent person? It would be all my fault when I could have taken the responsibility. It would be nice to get away from La Push and Jake. I don't know if I can handle being less than a mile from him all the time.

"May I speak with Melaine in private?" Edward speaks up. I look to him wondering what he could possibly have to say.

"Why not?" Aro says and points to a door in the back of the room. Edward leads me through it. I feel all eyes on me. Edward closes the large wooden door easily and I realize we are in a parlor.

"Don't even think about agreeing to that." Edward says to me softly.

"Give me a reason not to. What do I have in La Push?" I ask him seriously.

"Friends, family, Jake." Edward says.

"You are mistaken, I'm sure you are well aware of the…breakup. So you can mark off the last one." I tell him shortly. "It would be good for shifters all over the world to have me looking out for them. My friends and family would understand."

"You can't hear his thoughts Mel. _Don't do this_." Edward says close to me softly.

"Why do you care so suddenly? Why do any of you care so much recently? A week or two ago you wouldn't have cared if Blake would have drained me and if my destiny as he called it was fulfilled." I say to him.

"We would have cared; of course we would have cared. But while you healed, we all got to know and care about you and that's not something we can reverse. We all care about you. I made a promise to a lot of people to take care of you, one in particular seemed desperate, and so I'm not going to just let you throw away your life because you can't hear his disgusting thoughts about you Mel._ Please_, I'm begging you on behalf of a number of wonderful people you love to not do this." Edward pleads.

I don't know what to do. I'm about to start crying all over again because I'm thinking about Jake. I'm thinking about his words to me the night of the break up.

_You risked everything for that perverted leech._

_I just don't know if I can trust you._

_I told you I loved you._

_I can't love someone I don't trust._

"I don't know if I'll survive if I go back to La Push and I have to live so close to him Edward. You must understand that. My heart… it's broken, it's my fault but that doesn't mean that it hurts any less. To see… Jake again, I'm afraid it will completely be shattered, beyond repair. Do you understand how petrifying that is? I never thought he'd have this much power over me, but he does. He hardly fought for me, he never loved me. I can't go back and live walking distance from him. I'm afraid I'll break the way Bella broke when you left. I couldn't bear for my loved ones to see me that way; I couldn't bear seeing myself that way." I tell him and I can feel myself about to crumble.

"You aren't Bella, Melaine. You are already different than she was. If you can't handle it, you can always live with everyone else, I would say you could stay with me but Bella and I live away from everyone else and I don't think you and Bella in close proximity is a good idea. But you can live with my family, that's a far walking distance to Jake. I know you think that this is good, but don't sacrifice yourself for your own kind, the Volturi will not include you in the most important decisions, they'll go behind your back, drain you of your blood and Aro will use you to release his sexual frustration, there's no telling what gross disturbing things anyone else like Demetri would do when they have their assigned feeding time with you." Edward cringes at the thought. "_Please…_" He begs again. I don't take Edward for a begging man and seeing that he's begged me and for me a lot in the past hour says a lot. "_Don't do this. _If not for yourself then for everyone else who wouldn't want this. For Alice and Jasper who risked everything to come here, do you think Alice would be able to handle knowing what's in store for you. And your father, what would he say if we showed up without you and told him that we let them convince you to be a prostitute and a blood donor. For your pack who would be by your side until the end, I know this because even with the Blake incident they forgave you. And Embry, who I know would do anything for you, he'd probably rush here and get himself killed in seconds. And me, what about me? I'm begging you not to do this. I can't stand their thoughts anymore. Your father would have me shredded in a second once I told him the thoughts I heard and how I let you stay, then my daughter will grow up without a father you don't want that right? And last but certainly not least, Jake." Edward says and looks to me warily.

"You had me until that last bit. Why do you keep mentioning him Edward! It's over! Do you wish to break me more and more again and again?" I say and I'm about to start crying.

"I've been meaning to tell you; before we left I went to go see Jake." Edward says.

"You did what?" I ask him.

"I told Bella and Nessie goodbye and then I rushed over to see Jake. He wasn't happy to see me at first but I thought he had the right to know you were coming to Volterra."

"Let me get this straight, you thought it would be good manners to tell the boy who broke my heart that I was going to Volterra and possibly risking me life! Now he'll definitely think I've gone mad without him." I tell Edward enraged. "You had no right Edward. This was my business. He gave up the right to be in my business when he left me." I tell him and cross my arms across my chest.

"Actually, he said technically you left him. He said he tried calling your name but you wouldn't stop." Edward says matter-of-factly.

"He broke up with me. He broke up with me!" I raise my voice again. "I'm sorry I didn't wait around to watch him walk out of my life."

"Don't be like that," Edward says.

"You went behind my back and told him where I was going. Why? Why would he care? Why would you think that was okay?" I say.

"Because he still loves you and I know if I was Jake and the love of my life was running into the arms of danger I'd want to know." Edward says. "Go back out there, tell them you aren't interested and let's leave. You can go back home or try to sort things out with Jake. Just don't do this."

"He never loved me." I say.

"Any moment now!" Aro calls from the other room.

I look to Edward. "I'm ready to make my decision."


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27:

I open the large, heavy wooden door which is much heavier than Edward lead on when we entered the room.

"Darling!" Aro calls and holds out his arms as if I'm supposed to run into them like a pet.

"I've made my decision Aro." I tell him.

"I'm sure you've thought carefully about what is right for you and your kind." He says temptingly. His arms lower but still reach out to me. "Join my brothers and me; you will make a great new influence to the Volturi." Aro declares.

I look to Alice and Jasper whose faces look as if they are trying to warn me of all the things Edward warned me of. I look back to Edward, his face is unreadable. I focus back on Aro. "I can't join you at this time." I tell him. "Call me selfish Aro but my family needs me, my pack needs me, I can't leave them right now." I tell him.

Aro's face falls for a second and then it lightens up again. "The offer remains whenever you can, please do come and join us." Aro says. Aro turns back to his throne. "If you all would excuse yourself from the room, we have another guest."

Surprisingly, Aro didn't fight very hard for me, maybe he had another plan, but right now, I was going home with my friends who have slowly become more and more important to me since the day I began recovering in their home. Demetri eyes me as I leave the room and as soon as the door closes Alice wraps her arms around me.

"I was so worried you would choose to stay." She whispers to me. "I thought for sure you would, even after Edward talked with you about it." She squeezes me tightly before she lets go.

Jasper gives me a flawless half smile and he holds his hand out for me to shake. I giggle at this but then I hug him. "Thanks for trying to keep me calm in there, it helped me a lot." I whisper to him and his flawless smiles stays.

I let go of Jasper and turn to Edward. "Bella probably wouldn't approve of me hugging you." I tell him and he nods. "She'd say I was trying to steal you away." I smile at this. I rush to Edward and wrap my arms around him. "I don't care if Bella won't approve. Thanks for holding my hand through that whole thing. I haven't completely forgiven you about the whole Jake thing but I'm still thankful for you caring so much. I will admit that I was considering taking his offer before we talked. Thanks for helping me and thanks for just being there. I owe you one." I smile to him as I let go.

"You don't owe me anything. I apologize for making you uncomfortable about the Jake situation, I thought it was the right thing to do, I still do." He says to me softly.

"We can agree to disagree. I'm tired of arguing with people. I'm exhausted. I just want to sleep." I tell him and he smiles, I hear Alice chirp out a giggle.

"Edward!" I hear called and Edward immediately takes my arm as he grows tense then he relaxes slightly. "It is Edward right?" The boy named Aidan says as he rushes to us. "You all are the Cullens."

"Minus me." I say and Aidan nods.

"No, we are the Cullens." Alice smiles.

"What does he want?" Jasper asks.

"He wants to come home with us." Edward says.

I look to the boy named Aidan and then I look to all the Cullens, they are smiling friendly towards him. "Sure come on! We need to get out of the city before they change their mind." Alice smiles and begins walking with Jasper to the tunnel. Edward takes my hand and begins leading me Aidan comes to my other side and walks beside me.

"You are aware of their diet right?" I ask Aidan and Edward chuckles.

"Melly, he's already a vegetarian." Edward smiles to me.

"Good, I hear switching over is really hard and Forks doesn't need any more drama." I smile to Aidan. I hold out my hand to him while we are walking. "I'm Melaine, everyone calls me Mel or Melly though. Melly is mostly for friends." I smile to him.

"Hi Melly, I'm Aidan." He smiles and shakes my hand gently before letting it go.

We rush back to the plane and take off before the Volturi could change their mind about me peacefully leaving by choice.

I'm not nearly as tired as I was on the way there so I talk to Aidan and get to know him the whole way back.

Aidan was turned about a couple of decades ago. He was in love with the woman who turned him but she just needed him to be her other half and to lure prey to her. She was greedy he said but he had loved her for a whole decade until he realized he couldn't take being a monster anymore. He tried suicides but that never worked. Aidan had the ability of telepathy and could implant thoughts into his lover's victims to make them feel safe and to trust them. Then she'd drain their blood leaving some for Aidan, but mostly taking it all. He watched as he saw each body go limp and the light fade from each and every one of their eyes. Aidan said he heard their last thoughts and could remember every single one of them. Aidan was a lot like Edward and Aro but he was stronger than both of them, Aidan could read people's thoughts but he could also implant thoughts or ideas into people's heads. That's why the Volturi had searched him out. After several suicide attempts someone had told him about the Cullens and their lifestyle and Aidan decided to become vegetarian. The Voltuir already had him on radar and had quickly found him and brought him to the castle to offer him a deal. However, Aidan wouldn't be able to be around all of the killing again, he said he wouldn't be able to take it.

By the time the plane lands, Aidan and I know each other well, as well as the other Cullens know Aidan well.

"Come," Edward says, "Everyone would love to meet you." He smiles as he grabs his bag and walks out of the plane.

I smile to Aidan as I begin walking out and Aidan follows me along with Alice and Jasper.

I turn to everyone and say my goodbyes. Home isn't far from the airport and someone must have brought my car. I begin walking to my car when a cool hand grabs me and spins me toward him. My heart stops only for a second.

"Sorry," Aidan whispers. "I didn't mean to frighten you. I just wanted to say thanks for being so welcoming and listening. Whoever the idiot is who left you, I'm sure he's already regretting it."

I smile. "You don't have to say that."

"I know it's true." Aidan smiles. "Do you think the other Cullens will like me?"

I smile to him. "Of course they will. Esme will probably fall in love with you the moment she sees you. She'll be like your mother figure. She's lovely." I smile. "Rose takes some warming up but she's actually really kind when she doesn't see you as a threat or an idiot. Emmett enjoys playing around or wrestling, do that and you'll win over his heart. He's also a huge joker so don't let anything he says offend you because he's one of the sweetest guys I've ever met. And last but not least Carlisle is the most respected man in all of Forks and nonnatives don't get that title easily. He's kind and gentle and he will take care of you no matter what trouble you get yourself into. Be honest with them, they are your family now." I smile to him.

Aidan hugs me gently and it's not seductive or passionate it's friendly and soft and gentle. "Thanks," he whispers.

"You're welcome." I smile but quickly the smile comes off my face when I see a familiar shadow quickly moving towards us.

I let go of Aidan who seems confused. Alice quickly grabs his arm to pull him away from Jake's soaring fist. I reach out to stop him but Jake moves trying to hit Aidan again. Aidan moves out of the range of that fist and is quickly in the range of another the only way to get Jake to stop is if I stand in front of Aidan. I reach out to stop Aidan from moving and I stand in front of him directly in front of Jake's next punch.

A/N: Jake! (: I hope you guys enjoyed the double update! I'd love to hear from you. I'm in a wonderful mood so I might keep updating, who knows? I hope you are having a lovely day or night. Bye! (: -Courtney.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28:

At first it doesn't seem like Jake's going to stop but then the fire in his eyes fades and his fist drops like a sinking bird shot down out of the sky. I turn to Edward and instruct everyone to go home. He nods and everyone leaves on my orders. Edward is the one to lead a confused Aidan away.

_Welcome to Forks Aidan, home of the paranormal and crazy._

"It didn't take you long." Jake says bitterly as he looks at me with eyes filled with rage.

"What are you talking about Jake?" I ask him trying to read him but all I pick up is anger.

"You've already moved onto the next bloodsucking leech, what has it been a couple of days?" Jake says and his voice doesn't sound sweet and warm like it usually does. It's rough and full of jealousy. Not that I don't slightly enjoy him being jealous, but he gave up all of those rights before.

"Don't call him that. His name is Aidan. Why does it matter what I have or don't have with him?" I say to him annoyed by his anger. What the hell is Jake doing here anyways? Why does he think he can just show up and boss me around?

"It's been a couple of days! That's how long it took to get over me?" Jake asks and I can see hurt in his eyes, his voice is slightly less harsh.

"You are assuming I am over you. All I'm saying is so what if I'm trying to move on, you obviously don't care about me whatsoever." I say to him and I turn away from him. "Go home Jake, get some sleep." I begin walking to my car.

"The hell I don't care about you!" Jake yells. "You scared me to death going to the Volturi like that. Then you show back up with a vampire wrapped around your arms. If I don't care about you what is this sick feeling I have in my chest and why the hell won't it go away?" He's passionate now, not bitter but passionate. I turn to face him, are his eyes glassy?

"It's called heartache." I tell him trying to play it cool, I don't want to breakdown in front of him again. "I would know, I've been feeling it the entire time since you let me go. I'm too tired for this tonight Jake. I can't fight with you right now can you wait until the morning? I don't think I can handle any more of this crap tonight." I say as I turn to walk to my car when I begin to open the door I can feel Jake inches behind me.

"Fine." He says harshly. "Have it your way. See you in the morning." Jake says, he throws something on the ground and runs away.

I hop into my car and crank it up. As I'm driving away something catches in my side view mirror. I stop the car, curious to see what Jake dropped. I hop out and walk over to the form.

I lean down to see a single cream colored tulip with the dream catcher necklace wrapped around the stem perfectly. I pick up the flower and lift it to my nose to catch the scent. It's beautiful. I wonder why he had them with him. I pick it up, set it in the seat beside me and I drive home. Dad isn't still up so I rush to my room and I close the door. I force myself not to think about the flower and necklace on my dresser across the room. I fall into a dreamless sleep.

I hear the familiar sound of my dad's truck pulling out of the driveway and I decide that I probably won't be able to go back to sleep, not after all of the thoughts that begin swarming my brain the second I awaken from my dreamless sleep.

I stand up and stretch. I wish my head could be clear for a few seconds. It's not long after the familiar roar of my dad's truck fades that another familiar thud hits the floor of my bedroom. I turn to face the window of my bedroom where I find an all too familiar shadow leaning against the windowsill.

"Hi Melaine." He says softly.

"Jake…" I breathe.

We stand there awkwardly looking at each other, I hate this things have never been awkward between Jake and I; things have always just flowed smoothly.

"I have to go to the bathroom," I say awkward and rush to the bathroom. I try to control myself as I look at myself in the mirror. Of course he would show up right when I wake up, I look my worst right when I wake up. I look at my messed up bed hair and I quickly grab my brush and run it through my black hair which now falls passed my shoulder. I pull my hair into a low, messy bun. I brush my teeth and put on some deodorant. There's no way I'm letting him see me at my worst right now. I put on a little bit of lip gloss, take a deep breath and I walk out of the bathroom. He's in the same spot as when I left. He watches me walk closer without saying anything. I look to the flower that I found on the street last night. It's in the same spot but it's now in a vase of water. I look to Jake questioningly.

"Did you do that?" I ask him. He knows what I'm talking about; Jake doesn't miss anything.

"I didn't want it to die. You were in the bathroom; I had some time to spare." Jake says casually. "You didn't have to clean yourself up Melaine, it's not like I haven't seen you like that before." Like I said before, Jake doesn't miss anything. I stop walking towards him now and look at him, I'm so unsure of everything, I'm so confused, I don't want to mess anything up again but I also want to show him I'm strong.

I choose to ignore his comment. "You are here early Jake." I say to him as I lean against my desk.

"Couldn't sleep." He says casually. "Edward filled me in on your trip Melaine." He says softly and it's his turn to walk towards me now. "You shouldn't have had to go through that alone."

"I wasn't alone." I tell him. "According to you, it wasn't so bad; I even found the time to find a new seductive boyfriend." I say coldly to him and glare at him.

Jake looks down, is that regret I see? "I was kind of a jerk last night."

"_Kind of._" I say bitterly to him and take note that he's still slowly moving closer to me.

"I apologized to Aidan last night; turns out he's pretty cool. It helps to know that the Volturi were trying to recruit him, he refused and wanted to live with the Cullens with no interest in becoming romantic with you." Jake says. "There's one more person I need to apologize to…" Jake looks to me, he's inches from me. His hand reaches out and moves a stray hair behind my ear, my breath catches, I'm sure he can hear my heart rate increase with just that small touch. I think he's going to take his hand away but it slides down from my ear to the base of my neck and rests at the base of my neck and my shoulder. "Strawberry…" Jake whispers as he looks to my lips which I unconsciously painted with his favorite lip gloss. I need him to move his hand away; he doesn't know how close I am to falling into his arms and breaking down completely.

"Please…" I beg him to stop this horrible torture, it's better to think he's a horrible monster than to see this sweet, unbelievably caring man look at me with those warm, soft brown eyes I fell head over heels in love with so long ago.

"I need to say this," Jake says softly and I feel like I can see him about to break when he looks at me. "Then you can go back to hating me. I just really need to say this." I nod, too scared to trust my own voice from betraying me. "I was a jerk last night, seeing you with another guy drove me crazy. You have no idea the thoughts that ran through my head as I saw you in his arms. They were horrible, murderous thoughts. I'm so ashamed of them Melaine."

I need to keep my cool; I can't let him get to me again. "Jake, I'm not yours anymore. You threw me away remember? You don't have that right anymore. I can't just forget everything that happened between us because you need to control me."

"That's not it Melly." He pleads.

"Then what is it Jake?" I shout at him and pull out of his hand. "I loved you, I still do, and can't you see you are killing me by being here and being this amazing guy? It's so hard, I want to hate you, I need to hate you and yet here you are and for some reason you brought that flower and the necklace last night and I deserve an answer. Why would you do that? Why would you react the way you did? Why would you bring the flower and necklace to the place where I was going to be? You don't love me; I don't think you ever loved me. So why, why must you torture me Jake? Can't you see I'm breaking more and more every time?"

Jake grabs me. "Listen to me Melaine. If you've ever needed to listen to me, now is the time okay? I need you to hear everything. I need you to understand." Jake says.

"Please…" I say to him. "I don't want to hurt anymore."


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29:

"I'll leave as soon as I say this. Then you can throw me from your bedroom window and never see me again. Deal?" He says.

"Fine." I say sadly and quite pathetically.

"The night of your attack, Edward came to the reservation and said he had picked up on a vampire's thoughts earlier, he said he had tried to make sense of it all. All he knew was that the thoughts revolved around you. He asked me if you were at the reservation because as long as you were here, you were safe. That's when I told him you were in Port Angeles; we headed there immediately, the pack and the coven. Dr. Cullen had felt responsible that someone had gone under his radar. Edward picked up on his disgusting thoughts when we were close. It killed me but we waited for the perfect time to attack, Edward had instructed Alice to take care of you while we all took care of the leech.

"I needed to be the one to finish him, I needed to feel his bones break beneath my teeth, and shred his remains with my own paws. I needed to smell his corpse burn in the forest. There was no secret what he would want with you, I mean look at you. You are beautiful, smart and funny. You are the closest thing to perfection in the world. As I watched though, I noticed you had known him, that you had hid it from me. Finally the moment came and I snapped his neck, shredded him and smelt the smell of burning flesh.

"As soon as it was over I looked at your unconscious form and right then, something inside me broke. It wasn't all about the betrayal although that had hurt more than I could ever imagine, I wish you could have told me. No, it was worse than the betrayal and the anger," Jake's hand reaches up to caress my cheek, "I couldn't keep you safe Melaine. If I want- if I need anything in this world it is that you be safe and I couldn't do that. I couldn't protect you. What kind of boyfriend can't take care of his girlfriend, of the woman he loves? As I listened to your story I felt angry at you, angrier than I had before but it still wasn't the reason I broke up with you. I've already forgiven you for that; can't you see that would have been such a horrible reason to break up with you?

"I needed you to be safe, and I couldn't do that, so I thought to myself that maybe there was someone who could keep you safe better than I could. I fought with myself that entire week you recovered, I knew that if I saw you I wouldn't be able to do what was best for you. Then you caught me off guard that night. I wasn't expecting you, I should have but I didn't. I knew what I needed to do, you were already angry with me and broken, and you needed someone who wouldn't hurt you, who wouldn't let you get hurt. I decided to get angry with you, to blame it on the lies and betrayal. As I watched you break even more in front of my eyes I almost couldn't go through with it, but I needed to be tough because if you could be safe and happy with someone else than you needed that and I needed you to be safe and happy. Being without you and knowing that you are still out there somewhere is better than having been with you and knowing that you aren't there. When you threw the necklace that hurt the worst. I decided that I'd apologize and try to get you back but when I finally spotted you, you were with Embry and that just proved the point that I had made to myself that whole week, someone could take care of you better than I could.

"I was going to let you go. I was going to try to let you live without me, without ever seeing me again, but then Edward showed up. He saw through my façade of anger and he saw why I had really broken up with you. He told me about your decision to go to the Volturi and I worried about you the entire time you were gone. That's when I realized that I'd rather be by your side trying to protect you than worrying about someone else protecting you. Edward called me when you were close, he told me I had one shot to make things right, to tell you everything. I blew it though, I was a complete jerk and any respect you had of me left is gone. I was dumb for breaking up with you, I was dumb for trying to get you back last night after I blew it so badly before.

"I see the way you look at me Melly. I'm embarrassed to even be standing here in front of you asking you to understand. I don't deserve anything from you. I guess what I realized last night was you deserve so much better than me, you deserve the prince charming of your dreams. I'm not going to stand in your way, no more trying to punch anyone. I'm tired of hurting you Melaine. I can't stand it anymore. So I'm leaving, and I hope someday when you have a ton of babies with this unbelievably perfect guy that you'll think of me and smile because I let you go." Jake turns away and I let him walk to the windowsill.

I'm almost speechless, of all the things I thought he'd say I never imagined all of that. He jumps onto the windowsill and is about to jump down when I say, "You're an idiot." I say as I stand up. He turns to me and looks down ashamed.

"I know." He says.

"Why don't you see it?" I ask him.

He gets off the windowsill and turns to me. "See what?"

"That I love you Jake." I say and I see his face show some relief. "That I don't give a damn about a prince charming because you are the closest thing to perfection in this world. And I'm sorry I lied, and I'm sorry I was so stupid, and I'm sorry I threw the necklace back at you, and I'm sor-

I'm stopped in the middle of my rant by Jake grabbing me and his lips crashing against mine, sending me into the perfect bliss that I remember. The kiss is passionate, as if we haven't kissed in a decade.

We break away and Jake smiles to me. "Strawberries."

"Jake…" I breathe close to his lips. Jake moans slightly. Then I remember something, I pull away from him and Jake looks confused. "You said you love me." I smile to him childishly.

"I do." He smiles to me.

"You can't ever leave me again, Jake." I tell him and he nods. "I'm serious. If anyone is going to protect me, I want you to be the one. I have complete faith in you Jake. I love you." I tell him.

Jake leans down and gives me a passionate kiss. "I'm so sorry." He whispers between kisses.

"Me too. Can we just move on?" I ask him, he nods and continues to kiss me. It's not long before it gets heated between Jake and I. What can I say dogs are passionate creatures?

Jake pulls away for a moment and grabs something off my desk. He holds up the necklace and smiles to me. "This has always belonged to you. I don't want to think about it being on anyone else." He says gently. I smile to him and lift my hair from my neck.

"Will you put it on me?" I ask him.

He nods and fastens the necklace. He kisses the skin where the fasten rests just like he did the night he had given it to me. When he pulls away I turn to him and my lips hit his passionately once again. He kisses me back without any time to waste. WE continue to kiss fervently. When we are at the point where you either decide to move forward or decide to stay at the stage you are in I pull away. Jake looks into my eyes. "I want you Jake." I whisper to him. "But I need to change into something prettier, more sexy."

Jake pulls me against him and his lips go to my neck and begin toying with my sensitive spot. I moan. He stops after a few moments of messing with me. "You are perfect. But are you sure? I did just break your heart a couple of days ago."

I shake my head. "Don't. That's in the past. I don't care that some people would think this is rash. I know what's in my heart, it's you. I want… I _need_ you." I whisper to him. "Make love to me Jake, right here, right now. And never mention breaking up with me ever again."

Jake looks me up and down, savoring me with his eyes. "I love you," he whispers just before his lips crash into mine and his hands slide underneath my pajama top. When his hands reach high he pulls away and smiles. "No bra?" He asks with his eyebrow cocked.

"I just woke up when you barged in." I smile to him playfully. "Don't act like you hadn't noticed." I smile to him but it's quickly covered by his lips. My hands go to his shirt and I fight to pull it over his head, our lips only separating to release us from the clothes that keep us from our chests touching. I throw his shirt to the ground not caring where it falls, my hands slide down his head and hair, down his neck, down his back and across his waist until I find his waistband to his jeans. I unbutton them and let them drop revealing his black boxer-briefs. I smile through the kisses and I can't think of any other place I'd rather be.

Making love to Jake was perfect. He was gentle and sensitive. The room was filled with noises of pleasure and "I love you"s. He created feelings in me I'd never felt before, I've never been more sure of how much I love him then right now. I never could have wished for anything more.

Exhausted from our previous activity I pull Jake towards me on the bed and I cuddle into his bare chest. His heart is still racing; I can hear it through his chest. I can hear his heavy breathing and feel the warmth of it against the back of my neck when he pulls my hair to my shoulder. He kisses the base of my neck softly and I smile in pure bliss.

"I love you." I whisper when he pulls his warm lips from my slightly sweaty neck.

"I love you," he whispers back and I can hear that he is exhausted. "Let's sleep Melly, you exhausted me." He says and I can hear his smile in his voice.

"I was thinking the exact same thing." I whisper to him and I kiss his chest gently. "Sweet dreams," I murmur right before exhaustion overtakes me.

A/N: Another double update! Enjoy! I think this story is coming to a close. Talk to me. (: -Courtney


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30:

Things are starting to look up. The pack is having a meeting, but it isn't on the event of a vampire on our territory. The pack is actually hosting a baby shower. I'm actually really excited.

It's been about three months since the trip to Volterra. Things are actually really different now. My dad and Joy are openly seeing each other in public, the whole tribe is aware of how much they are in love. They are adorable, PDA and all. Leah and Embry are also open about their relationship now. I think some of the elders worried at first about two wolves mating because it's never been done before, then again girls never did join the tribe before Leah and I.

Embry, Leah and I are on our way to the meeting. Embry and Leah are being cute as usual and it makes me miss Jake. He went to visit cousins in another tribe two weeks ago; he's not supposed to get back for a few days. I hate being that clingy girlfriend but I miss him, every time he calls me I get so excited. I'm sure he can tell how much I miss him, but I have to be strong because I'm not that needy girl, I can live without seeing him every day right?

"He'll be home soon," Embry says while he kisses Leah's exposed shoulder softly as if he could read my mind. I smile to him and Leah and nod.

As we arrive Seth almost runs over us with Paul chasing him out of the house. Seth is yelling something behind him as he outruns Paul.

"Some things never change." I say to Leah and Embry. "What has Seth said to upset Paul now?"

"Probably something about Rachel." Leah says to me. "Have you told Jake by the way about his big sister being the imprintee of Paul Lahote?"

I chuckle a little. "Yeah so I can hear him have an aneurysm over the phone. No thank you. Plus I think its Rachel and Paul's place to tell him at the right time." I say to her. Quil walks up and hugs me.

"Hey little sis," he teases. I laugh, he's started calling me that since Joy and Dad have started dating.

"Hey Quil." I smile to him.

"Are you guys gossiping?" Quil asks jokingly because he knows the answer to that question. "If you are talking about the new imprint, there's big news. Paul proposed."

"Seriously?" I ask as I look to the man who now has Seth in his arms and his giving him a huge noogie. Sometimes, they just don't grow up.

"If you hurt him Paul, I'll kill you!" Leah shouts.

"Yep," Quil continues, "and Rachel said yes. Jake is going to freak. Have you told him Mel?"

"Why does everyone expect me to tell him?" I ask.

"He'd take it the best from you." Embry says. "He'd probably kill anyone else."

"We'll see, maybe I'll tell him when he gets back if Rachel and Paul ask nicely." I say as I head into the house. I'm met with Emily and her huge stomach as she rushes over to greet the visitors with a huge smile. She hugs me and kisses me on the cheek.

The party was fun; I continued to find myself distracted though with thoughts of Jake. I wonder what he's doing right now. Rachel and Paul did beg me to tell Jake before they mentioned it. They were both worried about Paul's health if Jake had found out.

When the party is coming to a close, my Dad walks over to me with his arm around Joy's waist. He smiles to me. "You had a visitor at the house before we left. He said to tell you to meet him at the cliff when the party was over."

"Who was it?" I ask him.

"They told me not to tell. You might want to hurry out there." Dad says.

I look to him questioningly but grab my bag and throw it over my shoulder.

I rush to the cliff, when I get there it is pitch black and completely silent.

"Hello?" I ask.

On cue, beautiful fairy lights light up in the trees that I just walked through. There's so many of them that they light up the whole cliff with a beautiful, dim lighting. I see that there is a blanket laid out on the rock.

"Who is there?" I ask grabbing my bag closer to me. What the heck is this? Is this some sick game?

"Melly." I hear behind me and I spin around. Jake. I sigh. I run to him, dropping my bag in the process and I wrap my arms around him and kiss him. He smiles through the kiss. It turns passionate soon, but I break away when a thought comes to me.

"How long have you been in town?" I ask him instantly, retreating from his arms.

"Since last night." Jake asks confused by my sudden coldness.

"You've been in town that long and you wait this long to see me!" I say. I cross my arms across my chest and pout. I know I'm being silly but I'm slightly hurt. Why did he wait so long?

Jake walks over to me and takes me in his arms. I lean my cheek against his chest taking in his smell.

"It was late last night." Jake whispers. "I didn't want to wake you."

"I wouldn't have minded." I whisper back.

"I know." He says as he brushes my hair gently with his hands. "I wanted to surprise you. Surprise." He kisses my forehead.

I look up to him. "Before whatever magically perfect romantic thing happens you should know something." I say. He looks worried. "Paul imprinted on your sister, and they are getting married." For a second, I see pure anger flash across his face and then it subsides.

"That bastard." Jake whispers.

"No, he's really not that bad Jake. She actually makes him better. You know how imprints are; they have a care for them that is more powerful than anything. He'll keep her safe, he'd never hurt her. Just don't kill him." I say.

"Did they put you up to this?" Jake asks.

I nod. "Everyone figured you wouldn't kill me if I told you." My hand rests on his cheek. "Try to think about it realistically, it's not like he chose her Jake. I'm sure that he wishes she wasn't your sister, but she is and he loves her."

"I know, but if he hurts her…" Jake begins but I nod telling him that I understand where he is going with everything. "He hasn't hit on you right?"

I laugh. "He is completely consumed with her, Jake. You'd hardly recognize him now." I tell him.

"You are wrong about one thing." Jake says and he takes my hand leading me to the blanket, he sits down and I sit down beside him and lean against him.

"What am I wrong about?" I ask Jake curiously.

"The imprinting care isn't more powerful than anything. This," he says as he takes my hand and kisses the back of it, his eyes don't leave mine, "you and me, we are the most powerful thing in the world."

"Damn it Jake." I say and I feel like I'm getting emotional.

"What?" He asks.

"Why do you have to be so damn perfect?" I say. "You make it impossible to be mad at you, which I was trying really hard to accomplish because you didn't come see me last night."

Jake smiles. "I'm not letting Paul and Rachel ruin my first night back."

"Good." I smile back to him and I kiss his cheek. I look around. "What is this all about?" I ask him.

"Ya know, the usual seducing tactics I use. First I get you on the blanket with the fairy lights, and then I make love to you so hard underneath the moon and listen to your cries of pleasure as they echo off the rocks." He smirks to me.

I laugh. "You've thought hard about that haven't you?" I ask Jake. "You've become more dirty minded since you've been away." I smile to him.

"I missed you." Jake says.

"I missed you." I tell him.

"In all seriousness, tonight is kind of a big deal." Jake says.

**A/N: I am incredibly sorry for the slow update. I hope you guys don't hate me too much. I hope you guys enjoyed this update**.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31:

"Please explain." I smile to him.

"So there's this girl, and I couldn't stop thinking about her the entire time I was away." Jake smiles to me.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you either." I look into his warm brown eyes.

"Oh I was talking about Leah." Jake jokes. "I just couldn't stop thinking about her, do you think Embry would kill me if I was to sweep her off her feet."

"Oh well… I was planning on seducing Embry, so I'm sure he'll quickly forget about her." I kid with him too.

Jake smiles to me and out of nowhere he pushes me onto my back and he straddles my waist. His hands pen mine to the ground beside me.

"I don't think Leah will appreciate your stance on top of me right now." I smile to him.

Jake leans down and kisses my exposed collar bone. The lace-trimmed baby doll camisole leaves me exposed more than I usually am. I can feel the warmth of his lips and I almost release a moan. He pulls away and his beautiful brown eyes meet mine.

"You know I was really talking about you right?" Jake asks seriously.

I laugh a little. "I kind of caught on." I smile to him. "So you couldn't stop thinking about me huh?"

"How was I supposed to? You make it impossible. Do you know that?" Jake says. "Just look at yourself." He says as his eyes scan my body. "You are intoxicating."

I smile. "You are okay too." I smile to him and he smiles back.

"Sam wants me to officially name a Beta, at the next meeting." Jake says getting serious once again.

"Oh? Who are you picking for that job?" I ask him.

Jake rolls off of me and sits up on the blanket beside me. I sit up and face him with my legs crossed. He looks to me seriously. "You really have to ask that question?"

"Yes, I do." I say to him.

"Of course it's you, it's always been you. You've always been my most trusted. There's never been anyone else and there never will be. The job is yours, if you'll take it." Jake says seriously, all of the joking is over, this is the serious stuff, and this is the big deal he was talking about.

"After everything, you still want me to be your Beta?" I ask him.

"Of course I do Melaine." Jake says.

I smile to him and I lean over and kiss him on the cheek. "I'll do it. I love you so much." I whisper to him.

Jake smiles to me. "That's not all."

"You are kidding me right?" I ask him and he shakes his head.

"I've been thinking a lot lately Melaine." Jake says.

"About what?" I ask him curiously.

"About why I shouldn't marry you." Jake says.

I laugh because I think he is joking around. When I notice that his face is completely serious, I stop laughing and I bite my bottom lip nervously. "What did you come up with?" I ask nervously.

"Did you know I couldn't come up with any good reason?" Jake smiles to me. "But now I'm thinking about it, there is the annoyingly perfect biting your bottom lip thing. And your eyes, they just draw me into you. And your touch is addicting, I'm pretty sure I suffered from withdrawal after I left. So, I guess it's best for us to spend some time apart. That way we don't get dependent on each other, and I don't have to see your amazing little quirks like the adorable lip biting." I know he's joking about the break up.

I smile to him. "You know most people just get on one knee, pour their heart out and ask Jake."

"You and I aren't like most people." Jake says with a beautiful, perfect smile. "I don't have to tell you I love you every other minute because I think you know that by now and I like that."

I lean close to him, my smile as big as ever. "It doesn't hurt to be reminded." I tease him.

Jake leans in and his forehead rests against mine. I can feel his warm breath against my skin. "I love you." He breathes and it's the sweetest sound I've ever heard. "Marry me." He whispers, it's not a question and I smile even bigger. I don't answer though, I don't know if I'd be able to find my voice. "I love everything about you and everything about us. I'm not perfect and you probably deserve better, but I think you've chosen me and I don't want to lose my chance with you. Marry me, Melaine."

"We don't have to rush anything Jake, I'm not going anywhere." I whisper to him.

"Do you not want to marry me?" Jake asks.

"Of course I do. But if you don't want to marry me, you don't have to. I'm not planning on leaving. I don't plan on going that long without seeing you ever again actually." I say softly to him.

"Good, because I love you, Melaine. I'm not rushing anything, I've thought about it the whole time I was gone. I want you to be mine in every possible way. I want to wake up to you every morning and see your adorable bed hair and the way your eyes are slightly droopy when you first wake up. I want to hold you forever. Marry me." Jake says and this time it isn't a whisper.

I smile to him. "I love you." I say and I kiss him on the lips.

"Is that a yes then?" He smiles to me.

"Yes, Jacob, I'll marry you." I push Jake to the ground and I straddle his waist. My lips meet his and I take in every bit of his taste in that kiss. I take in everything in that moment. I memorize the stars, the blanket, the way his hands are gentle but eager as they run over my body during the kiss. I memorize the way the lights glow off his skin perfectly. Everything is perfect.

I pull away from the kiss. "We have to tell my dad, Joy and Billy."

Jake smiles. "They know I was going to ask you."

"Really?" I ask.

Jake nods. "Call me old fashioned but I asked for your dad's permission. Speaking of which, the ring." He digs in his pocket. He pulls out his closed fist. "When I told your dad he insisted I use this." Jake opens it and reveals a silver band with a diamond in the middle. Two small diamonds are embedded in the band, one on each side of the middle diamond. On the inside of the ring is an inscription, _forever_. I immediately recognize it as my mother's engagement ring.

"Jake…" I say speechless as he slides the ring on my finger.

"After I asked for your dad's permission, he insisted I give you this ring." Jake says.

I'm sure my smile couldn't get any bigger. I lean down and kiss him again. "Everything right now is perfect." I whisper to him. Jake takes my lips in his and his warm hands run over me. "I never want this to end." I say as I roll off of him and curl against his side, I lay my cheek against his chest. I take Jake's hand in mine. Jake begins drawing designs on my hand with his finger.

"It doesn't have to." Jake says and he kisses my forehead.

"Can we just stay here tonight?" I say. "I don't think I'll be ready for this to end."

"Of course we can." Jake says. "We can tell everyone in the morning. This isn't going to end. This feeling, it will be here always." Jake kisses my forehead.

"Promise?" I ask as I lace my fingers through his.

"I promise." Jake says and kisses my forehead once again. Forehead kisses are quickly becoming more and more infectious for me. They almost have the same effect on me as those perfect neck kisses where he finds my sensitive spot.

I look up to the stars and I feel like anything and everything is possible. Jake makes me feel like I can do anything. I guess this is what princesses feel like at the end of their story when they are riding off on white horses into the sunset. This is what happily ever after feels like. I don't care about princesses, white horses and sunsets I'm in bliss on a blanket beneath the stars with the best man I've ever known holding me in his arms. There's another difference between me and those princesses, this isn't the end of my story, and it's just the beginning, the beginning of Jake and my life together, the beginning of our family, the beginning of our love story. Jake is my one and only and I'm pretty sure I've always known that, but now, now there's no denying it.

But for now, underneath the stars with Jake drawing patterns on my hand all I can think of is…

And they all lived happily ever after.

**A/N: Hi! That's a wrap! What do you all think? Was it a horrible ending? I hope you guys don't hate me too much for the slow updates. I really wanted to end this right, so I kept getting stuck with it. I think I got the ending though. Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, alerting, and the favorites. I appreciate it a lot. I'd love to hear lost thoughts on everything though. (: You all have made this story so much more enjoyable to write. Thank you. I appreciate every single one of you. -Courtney**


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